JOHN ANTHONY ROBLES II

There are literally thousands of articles on JAR2 with the majority of them being the original work of the site's owner John Robles II. We encourage you to look around and while some may seem dated all work is topical as all of the subjects and operations covered continue to this day. - John

All work by John Robles II can be found in cheonological order on the following pages. However this is not all and we are continuing to categorize and organize the site. All of the work on the following pages has be published elsewhere with most of it appearing on the Voice of Russia World Service's website before it was liquidated by by the NWO's 5th column in Russia after we became too critical of the United States and IsraHELL.

The portrait that has come out about the Norwegian terrorist is that of a nationalistic hate-filled individual created in part and fed by xenophobia, Islamophobia and hate. He is a result of the war on terror and a testament to the fact that hate breeds hate and violence breeds more violence. The architects of 9-11 must be laughing.

The architects of 9-11 must be laughing. They have changed the entire thinking of the world. Osama Bin Laden, whom the West created to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, wanted to destroy Western civilization and has succeeded for a certain part. Now the hate and fear of Islam has caused a deranged individual to strike at his own people out of fear that they might be allowing Islam to attack his culture.

Yes, the post 9-11 world has changed. The U.S. has changed the most, and violence has led to more violence, and hate to more hate, with Americans becoming so calloused that they danced in the streets and in front of the White House when the U.S. committed the extra-judicial execution of Osama Bin Laden. Yes he was a bad man, a monster to everyone who believes he was solely responsible for 9-11, another event whose origin was hate, hate of Islam and disrespect for those who are different. But he was a human, and should have been tried in a court and given due process, not because he deserved it, but because the world deserved it. The West had the chance to prove that it has not sunk to the depths of barbarism, that it is morally superior, but once again it chose to go down the all-too-used road of violence.

All of this has led to the obvious outcome, of which we are likely to see more of the same. A lone killer driven to commit the worst act of violence Norway has seen since World War II and one of the most, if not the single most, horrific act of mass murder in modern history, has the world struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of what he has done. Close to 100 dead and hundreds of peaceful lives shattered. Anders Brehing Breivik has given the world a shock and what some say, should be a wakeup call.

What are the roots of the seething evil hate that must permeate what passes for a mind in this individual?

In his own words the 32-year-old monster says the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, as he put it; "tipped the scales" for him. As a hater of Muslims he supported what the West saw as Serbia's crackdown on Albanian Muslims. A year later he said he realized that what he saw as the "Islamisation of Europe" could not be stopped without violence. He also believed Muslims were trying to destroy Western culture.

In his much talked about “manifesto” he writes in detail about the reasons for his hate of Muslims and Marxists. He wrote they are the reason Europe is multicultural. A strange philosophy since he killed ethnic Norwegians on his rampage of terror.

Further pointing to neo-Nazi ideology is another organization with whom Breivik had ties and about which he talked about on his internet postings, the far right English Defense League. According to media reports he also had ties with other anti-Islamic European hate groups. Further underlining his far right racist thinking are articles and comments he published on sympathetic Scandinavian websites, including Nordisk, a site used by neo-Nazis, far right radicals and Islamophobes.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a U.S. based organization that tracks hate groups of every kind worldwide, connections between U.S. and European neo-Nazi group are strong and growing stronger. U.S. based neo-Nazi groups are protected by the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of speech and they publish material and set up Internet sites aimed at Europeans which publish material that is illegal under European anti-racism laws. Many European groups also use American servers for hosting, to avoid prosecution in their native countries.

Lastly, pointing to Breivik’s connection to American neo-Nazi, racist, anti-government thinking is part of his manifesto, which was taken almost verbatim from the manifesto of another infamous American terrorist, the "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski.

So what has the world come to? Some say the US lost its innocence after the Oklahoma City bombing, some say the world lost its own after 9-11. What is clear is that the world has gone astray. What kind of a world are we passing on to future generations when powerful states bomb weaker states to destroy terrorists and at the same time unintentionally kill innocent people and even children as it happens in Afghanistan or Iraq? A world, in many parts of which torture, war crimes, aggressive wars, terror and fear are the rule of the day and where force and hate are very often the only way people communicate? Where has the world gone wrong?

Are we now all to live in fear that one of these hate-filled individuals is going to kill our children? How many will it be next time?

Friedrich Nietzsche said: “Be careful what you hate, lest you become that which you hate”. Is that what has happened?

This home grown terrorist, another Osama Bin Laden, who hated Muslims, did exactly what those he was afraid of might have done, in his mind. So twisted in his hate was he, that he never once stopped to think as he was meticulously planning to kill his own people, whether there was something wrong with his own thinking.

Will we now drag this pathetic nobody, Brevik, into the street and torture him? God knows many would do that and even more to this sick nothing, and they would not be wrong in doing so, except for one thing and I think Martin Luther King Jr. said it best, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

A Senate committee passed an act recently called the Protect IP Act but then, just as quickly, a Senator from Oregon, Ron Wyden, put the bill on hold because as he said, it would “muzzle speech and stifle innovation and economic growth.

The latest piece of internet blacklist legislation, known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House of Representatives, was introduced by the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) who claims it is for the purpose of shutting down foreign sites that post intellectual property created by U.S. firms, goes even further than the Protect IP Act.

The act would allow the US Justice Department powers to punish and shut down websites, both in the U.S. and anywhere in the world and go after companies that provide support for them, either technically or through payment systems

The US and the West have long criticized China for stifling dissent and for censorship but now they are not only joining China but they are taking censorship even further and attempting to censor the whole world.

The international implications of SOPA are worrying for as experts claim: it appears that the US is taking control of the entire world. The definitions written in the bill are so broad that any US user who uses a website overseas immediately gives the US the power to potentially take action against it and enable them to force ISPs to DNS-block any foreign site.

On a global scale it grants the U.S. Government far-reaching powers to go after Web sites which it claims are hosting copyrighted content. According to Public Knowledge a group which promotes a free internet “SOPA is significantly worse than its Senate cousin” because even sites that are not directly responsible for their content can be held liable and shut down, including sites such as search engines.

Not long ago the U.S. admitted that it was in a state of information warfare and that it was losing the war. So what do you do if you are losing the information war? You muzzle the messenger.

SOPA is not being rushed through to protect against copyright theft, the US is scared, the Arab Spring has become the Western Fall and the U.S. is going all out against those who dare to question the official US Government line, something that the internet inconveniently allows as the people use the internet more and more to find out the truth.

Record numbers of people are turning away from the mainstream U.S. controlled media and getting information from independent news sources online that are reporting on events.

You now hear people in the everyday situations mentioning things that only a few years ago were unknown outside of "conspiracy" circles. For example the collapse of building 7 on 9-11, the fact that the Republicans and Democrats are essentially the same political party, as are Labour and the Tories all choreographed for our consumption to maintain the pretence of democracy. Most people now know they have a government controlled by bankers and that NATO is attempting to dominate the world, we also know in advance that the West wants to invade Iran and take control of the Arctic by force.

The SOPA Act has been met with wide criticism and the list of those opposing it is long and sounds like a who’s who of the tech community. For starters Mozilla blacked out its name on its home page in protest, as did the social news site Reddit. The website Tumblr published a page against the act, and internet giants like AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Zynga criticized Sopa by taking out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times.

At present, if Facebook, You Tube or other leading websites are found to be illegally hosting copyrighted material they are told to take it down. However the SOPA Act takes things to the next level and would allow the U.S. Government to block the website entirely.

Imagine if one day, for example, you could not access Google because it had been blocked for linking to an illegal mp3 file. In a blog post Google said SOPA “…would threaten innovation, jobs, and free expression”

In a collective statement put out by internet giants they say that the SOPA Act “…would encourage censorship, kill jobs and give US authorities unrivalled powers over the world's websites.” “We support the bills' stated goals – providing additional enforcement tools to combat foreign 'rogue' websites that are dedicated to copyright infringement or counterfeiting. Unfortunately, the bills as drafted would expose law-abiding US internet and technology companies to new and uncertain liabilities, private rights of action, and technology mandates that would require monitoring of websites," the firms wrote in a public statement.

On Tuesday, ten members of Congress signed a letter expressing concern over the bill, including nine Democrats and one Republican, Rep Ron Paul from Texas.

They write that the SOPA Act is "overly broad and would cause serious and long term damage to the technology industry, one of the few bright spots in our economy." The representatives say that passing the act would cause, “…an explosion of innovation-killing lawsuits and litigation."

Opponents say the bills could basically destroy the internet and destroy innovation by "using the same domain blacklisting technologies pioneered by China and Iran".

An open letter has also been sent to Congress and was co-signed by AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo! and Zynga, all of whom rarely agree on anything else, which says a lot.

The freedom of speech and expression and the uncontrolled dissemination of information online is a serious problem for Western political elites and the truth-spreading-culprits are many: 9-11 truth sites, intelligence sites, anti-war sites and foreign mass media sites like this one and many others, sites such as the aforementioned and many more, along with bloggers of every shape and form are out there on the net, exposing things, getting at the truth.

These truth seekers are in the millions and are exposing things like, torture, war crimes, political assassinations, media manipulation, government lies and corruption, who controls politicians, the fraudulent nature of the money system, police brutality (and uncensored video evidence to show it), eugenics, cover ups and the blacker intelligence operations. And they are spreading all of this information across the globe in seconds.

For the U.S. the truth has become an inconvenience and a dangerous threat to its power.

Obama's Distractor Scandals Much Ado Over Nothing Real Issues Obfuscated - John Robles

Election season is under way in the United States and dirt is being thrown around left and right as Americans love to do. Rarely are positive campaigns fought in American politics, as a rule the focus is on the most minuscule impropriety or immorality, which if cooked and served up right, can take down the strongest of candidates. Sadly it is not even really important if there is truth in allegations, what is more important is how often (the lie) is repeated, for as with any non-truth, if it repeated enough it has a way of becoming truth to the public.

This time the dirt being dug up, if not fabricated, against President Barack Obama, a president who has been attacked by the right wing and its lunatic fringe since day one for everything from his name to his birth certificate, involves not him directly but a contributor to his campaign. Lest it be forgotten the person in question, New York donor Abake Assongba has been accused, not found guilty or convicted. This should be an important fact in the land of so called, “…innocent until proven guilty….”, but it is just a side point as is normally the case.

As anyone who knows me can state, without a doubt, I am not one to defend American politicians, even Obama, however as a champion of fairness I do find it necessary to underline one very important fact here; U.S. President Obama is the only presidential candidate who has released a list of what Americans call "bundlers," those who raise high-dollar campaign funds through friends and associates. This is something Republicans have long been want to do.

This is not the first scandal involving Barack Obama and his contributors. Let’s not forget the case of long-time Clinton family financier, Hassan Nemazee, accused of fraudulently obtaining loans totaling $292 million from three banks to support his lifestyle and make political contributions. He was convicted to 12.5 years in prison in July 2010 on multiple counts of bank fraud and wire fraud. However this case does not involve Obama directly.

What about the Republicans? Well if you do a Google search for the term “Republican Scandals 2012” you will get 68,200,000 results. I did not even know where to start. For the Republicans it is so bad that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched the “House of Scandal” website at: http://dccc.org/index.php/corrupt , which has an interesting feature, Corrupt Republican of the Month, for those interested in dirt.

In contrast to Barack Obama, Mitt Romney is no angel, a Google search for the term Romney Finance Scandals will provide you with 13,300,000 results, including an ABC News piece which turned out to be nothing, but provocatively began: “Although it is not apparent on his financial disclosure form, Mitt Romney has millions of dollars of his personal wealth in investment funds set up in the Cayman Islands, a notorious Caribbean tax haven. …” However as it turned out, like I said, it was nothing.

The real story here might be about the transparency that Barack Obama has attempted to maintain, as opposed to his opponents obfuscation, because really, with 1.3 million people having contributed to Obama’s campaign, according to Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt, it would be really hard to vet every single one beforehand.

On the other hand the real story here might also be about how American politics has become a simple money game, where the richest man (or woman) wins. Let’s not forget Barack Obama saying he would raise $1 billion dollars for his campaign.

Just like the unprecedented transparency of the recent Presidential Elections in the Russian Federation, and transparency here meant transparent video monitored ballot boxes, among other things, no one in the American mass media really wants to comment on Obama’s transparency, it is all about ratings and dirt and maintaining prejudices and party lines.

With the global economic crisis, the world on the brink of WWIII, the US’ ongoing military campaigns, all of Obama’s broken promises, global warming, unrest over most of the Middle East and much of Europe, famine, disease and poverty and judging from the fact that this is an ongoing US election cycle, I would say that once again, with regards to US President Barack Obama, this latest “scandal” is much ado over nothing.

Just when humble shell-shocked little-old-you thought it was maybe, sort of, just quite possibly, kind of, a little safe

Just when humble shell-shocked little-old-you thought it was maybe, sort of, just quite possibly, kind of, a little safe to pop your head out of your marginally cozy self-delusional hiding place (a secret place you created to withstand the mind-numbing daily onslaught of images and reports of endless war, violence, genocide, corruption, unrest and the expanded “Democratization” of the entire planet), COMING SOON to a naïve, trusting, albeit; greedy and just morally-repugnant-enough-to-be-pliant COUNTRY NEAR YOU, A NEW and EXPANDED US/NATO PRESENCE (or its surrogate, doesn’t matter).

According to an Official Statement by Dr. Brad Roberts to the US House Armed Services Committee, dated March 6, 2012, in which he requests funding for US Missile Programs, the US is: implementing the principles of the phased adaptive approach in the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East (regions) and building on the existing foundations of U.S. cooperation. He writes; these regional approaches must be tailored to the unique mix of threat and geography in each region and that the footprint of U.S. military presence is different in each region, and will evolve in different ways over the coming decade.” In other words what we see now is just part of a long term plan of global domination.

According to the same document, in the Asia-Pacific Region: Japan has acquired its own layered missile defense system, and the United States and Japan are partnering in the co-development of an advanced version of the SM-3 interceptor, the SM-3 Block IIA, and the United States and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding on missile defense cooperation in 2004 and partnership on ballistic missile defense research and development, most notably in the field of sensors. The United States also continues to consult with the Republic of Korea regarding its future ballistic missile defense requirements. The US also engages in a trilateral dialogue with Japan and Australia and another trilateral dialogue with Japan and the Republic of Korea. This is important because it is the US engaging in talks but it is its surrogate NATO, which will be key in implementing the military structures and presence.

The document goes on to out-line plans for the Middle East including: improving interoperability between U.S. and Israeli missile defense systems and the 2008 deployment a forward-based radar in Israel. It states that the US Administration has requested nearly $450 million for Israeli rocket and missile defense between FY 2010 and 2013 and secured an additional $205 million in FY2011 to procure Iron Dome defense systems. $655 million is just for Israel. In a country faced with an economic crisis with the common people not even able to be provided with healthcare, this is a huge sum just for Israel.

Also, according to the same document, in the Middle East the US is working with a number of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries on missile defense, including the selling of U.S. missile defenses through the Foreign Military Sales program and the US is promoting interoperability and information sharing among the GCC states which they say will allow for more efficient missile defenses and could lead to greater security cooperation in the region.

A very key phrase in the document is one stating that; “… the primary purpose of the phased adaptive approaches to regional missile defense is to build upon a solid foundation to achieve improvements over the coming decade.” This phrase is important because it shows the plans for expansion and the forward thinking that it behind the whole approach. Meaning, to put it bluntly, today we have a few missiles in your face and tomorrow we have you surrounded and neutralized.

Another key figure is the amount that is being requested, and one must keep in mind that this for missile defense only, this does not include other military expenditures by the US and NATO. The document states that; “… the Fiscal Year 2013 budget request is $9.7 billion and $47.4 billion over the next five years to develop and deploy missile capabilities.” The document also claims that the phased adaptive approach is fully in line with the main themes of U.S. defense strategy in a period of budget austerity. They call $47.4 billion in line with budget austerity?!

These are just two regions that they mention; let us not forget that NATO and the US are expanding their “military footprint” (using their term) in the Arctic, in the Caucuses, in India and even into the Russian Federation itself, with the “harmless” renting of the Uzhni Airbase, a move opposed by the Communist Party and one that must be scrutinized under a microscope if it is to be seriously considered.

Also affecting the situation close to home is NATO’s continued love affair with Georgian President Saakashvili. On April 3rd the NATO-Georgia Commission met in NATO headquarters in Brussels with Saakashvili and Rasmussen both present. Rasmussen, the NATO Secretary General, said “A forceful statement with regard to cooperation with Georgia may be made at the NATO Chicago summit in late May 2012.” However he did not confirm that NATO would grant Georgia a NATO Membership Action Plan at the Chicago summit nor in what way exactly NATO would express its support to Georgia. Rasmussen said that the statement on Georgia will express NATO’s gratitude to Georgia for sending the largest military group of non-NATO member countries to Afghanistan, the alliance will confirm an important contribution of Georgia to trans-Atlantic cooperation and would once again acknowledge and welcome the Georgian wish to join it.

Speaking recently on Chicago Public Media about a NATO debate and calling for the disbandment of NATO, something many believe should have been done when the Warsaw Pact collapsed, NATO expert and anti-NATO activist Rick Rozoff called the Alliance: “… a lawless, aggressive, constantly expanding threat to the post-World War Two international political order and security system … and … a bellicose Western axis launching wars at will as far away from the North Atlantic Ocean as the Balkans, South Asia and North Africa, dividing and destroying nations in sanguinary rampages from the former Yugoslavia to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Libya to the Gulf of Aden. And completing the military encirclement of Russia, with Iran next and China after it, replete with an extension of the U.S.-NATO European interceptor missile system into the Persian Gulf, the South Caucasus, India and the general Asia-Pacific region. “

Mr. Rozoff finished a post to his mailing list recently with a simple question which I would like to echo, he asked: “When will the true world community come to its senses and demand that NATO be abolished?” I second that motion and add, isn’t it time we all woke up? Or perhaps it is already too late.

The US Believes it is the World’s Judge, Jury and Executioner - By John Robles

The Victor Bout case proves innocence is an inconvenient truth for the US, as is jurisdiction, rule of law, human rights, international norms, the Geneva Conventions, the territorial integrity of sovereign nations, etc. etc.

There are so many egregious errors and over-steppings of the bounds of what can be accepted as normalcy in this case that one is want where to begin. To make some sense of the utter magnitude of this international miscarriage of justice is not easy because for all intents and purposes there is no sense to be made here.

The case against Victor is rotten to its very core and its very foundation is so shaky that no sane person anywhere else but in the US would have pursued it. I may be wrong in your opinion but I do not think I am exaggerating or over-stating the seriousness of this matter.

At the core of this case is something that should never have been allowed to stand because it has set such a dangerous earth shaking precedent that there is really little way that the world can go back. The simple premise that the US has some sort of “right” to arrest the citizen of another country, a person who is not and never was any sort of US National, in a third country for a violation of US laws that only apply to the US and its territories which never actually occurred, based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence, is more than just ludicrous, it is insane.

If this is the case and the first and most basic premise used by the US in the entire Bout case is in fact insane, or shaky if you like, then it must not be allowed to stand by the international community.

This tenet that the US is basing their aggressive wars on, this belief they are using to continue arming rebel groups worldwide, over-throwing governments, targeting for death anyone they wish and more, this twisted self-serving belief that anyone or anything, anywhere in the world, at any time who is against the United States of America is a criminal and can be liquidated, must not be allowed to be used anymore to undermine the integrity of the entire planet. 9-11 is over, they cannot be allowed free reign any longer.

Even if Victor Bout was guilty their case is hilarious. Let’s turn the tables and look at it from the other side and from the precedent this sets. Even if he assisted in some way in delivering weapons to FARC this is not illegal everywhere in the world. SO what jurisdiction did the US have to illegally kidnap Bout in Thailand? Is it a US territory? Thailand allowed this to happen so they gave up their sovereignty because like everyone they are afraid of the world’s policeman, and judge, jury and executioner.

Georgia for example was armed by the US, they killed UN sanctioned Russian Peacekeepers and civilian Russian citizens, that is a crime under international law, so the world’s policeman must arrest; Condelezza Rice, George Bush, and every American that played any role in that act of aggression. What about Iraq and Afghanistan, the same thing?

We saw this first in Afghanistan, and I was shocked that they were allowed to arrest, or kill, or torture anyone who fought back when the US Forces aggressively attacked their country. My thought, and tell me if I am wrong, is that if some soldier comes into my house and starts killing my family you better believe I am going to fight back to the death. But the world’s policeman says this is a crime, (defending your loved ones) if the US wants to kill your father you better not try to save his life, you had better not pick up that grenade to throw it back because if you do you are an enemy combatant and will be taken to Guantanamo and tortured to death. Isn’t that exactly what they did in Afghanistan?

What about Yugoslavia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, China, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Iran, Yemen, and every other country where the US has supplied and armed insurgents, rebels, extremists, and fanatics? The killing and overthrowing of governments these people were responsible for were acts which were illegal in all of those countries were they not? So let us call the world’s policeman to arrest every American involved in those crimes.

While we are at it let’s arrest every manufacturer of American weapons, every official, designer, employee and distributor at Raytheon, General Electric, General Dynamics, and so on and so forth. I mean their weapons are used to kill innocent women and babies. While we are at it, if we follow the logic they used to kidnap, torture and entrap Bout, let’s arrest everyone involved is selling and manufacturing at Colt, Smith and Wesson, Remington and every other maker of arms. Why? Well these weapons are used by criminals to commit crimes, to kill cops and the like, so just like Bout, the suppliers of these weapons must also be held responsible. Right?

Wrong! The world’s policeman says so. No matter what country you live in anywhere in the world you must follow US law. If the US wants to sell weapons to Syrian fanatics, or Chechen terrorists, or Albanian murderers this is okay and acceptable. But you must do nothing against US interests, or you will be hunted down, arrested, tortured, or simply taken out by a drone.

Yes I said this too loud and too clear, but this is in fact the reality we are faced with and it is time people all over the world woke up. We can play with words, and be politically correct and make things look nice and not so bad but in reality we have all been enslaved by the US. Or have we? Stand up, or stand down. It’s up to you.

Today Russia mourns along with Poland a disaster that should never have happened and which hit Russia almost as hard as it hit Poland. At 10:41 GMT a minute of silence was observed and ceremonies were held in both countries.

On April 10th 2010, during an attempt to land in thick fog at Smolensk North Airport, a former military airbase, the Polish President’s Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M Aircraft crashed near the city of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board. The pilots attempted to land under conditions where visibility was reduced to about 500 meters (or 1,600 feet) and approached too low clipping trees which caused the aircraft to flip upside down, impact the ground, break apart, and eventually come to rest 200 meters (660 feet) short of the runway in a wooded area.

All 96 people on board died including Polish president Lech Kaczyński and the First Lady Maria, the Head of the Intelligence Service, Former President Ryszard Kaczorowski, the Chief of the Polish General Staff and other senior Polish military officers, the President of the National Bank of Poland, Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister, Polish government officials, 15 members of the Polish parliament, senior members of the Polish clergy, and relatives of victims of the Katyn massacre.

All of the victims were en-route from Warsaw to attend an event in Russia marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre at a location approximately 19 kilometers (12 miles) west of Smolensk.

For Russia the disaster came at a time when the Russian Federation and the Russian people were taking unprecedented steps and showing unprecedented openness towards the Polish people and the Polish State in attempting to bring closure to one of the darkest moments in Russian-Polish history.

Unfortunately the intense pressure and the importance of the ceremony at Katyn coupled with the hurried preparations and errors in the cockpit led to a tragedy of historic proportions and another dark moment in Russian-Polish History.

The death of the so many top officials at one time has no parallel in modern history. Never has such an event taken place causing many to fault the Polish side for allowing the entire top echelon of the Polish Government to be on a single airplane at the same time.

From the beginning many in the Western media and all over the internet pounced on Russia and tried to find fault with the Russian side with conspiracy theories popping up left and right, every breaking detail being twisted to fit into some black scheme or another.

The whole premise that Russian had something to gain from orchestrating such a tragic event in my opinion seemed ridiculous, the entire country was in shock and everyone from the president on down were doing all they could to console and assist the Polish people in their time of shock and mourning but even in such a time of pain and national mourning cynical anti-Russian hysteria reared its ugly mindless little head.

I have spoken to many experts and conducted hours and hours of my own research into the tragedy, part of which included studying and reading dozens of theories on the disaster and my conclusion was the same as that of many top professionals. Blame lies with the cockpit crew and with the events that occurred in the cockpit, including the interference and the influence of passengers on the crew. In the end, however, after all is said and done, no matter what else was happening, with the Captain of the aircraft.

As for the conspiracy theories, well, there are some that for me could have been developed but for some reason never were and the very fact that they were not can lead one to cast a suspicious eye in that direction.

You know as well as I do that when there is a crime committed, the first place to look is at who benefits, who has a motive. This is a tried and true investigative approach and must be part of any healthy debate or thinking in approaching such events. What I noticed, and I am sure that many would not go there, is that many in the West had more to benefit from the disaster than anyone in Poland or the Russian Federation.

Now, I am not accusing, or pointing the finger, but just as theories were concocted blaming Russia, based on the flimsiest of evidence, much more could be said for conspiracies involving NATO for instance.

With the US and NATO’s aggressive interference in the internal affairs of nation after nation since 1999 and especially since September 11, 2001, one has to ask oneself some hard questions. In the case of Poland, in which the US had already installed its own regime, (remember “Solidarnost” and Lech Walesa and the “color revolution” there?) the problem for the Alliance was quite an acute one. They saw that Poland was mending fences in a real and significant way and in a truly heartfelt manner which was not in any way conducive to allowing for NATO Missile Batteries to be placed on Polish soil to neutralize Russian Defenses.

If one is to concoct conspiracy theories then one must look at who benefits and if we look at 9-11 and at the Smolensk crash and at a slew of other such events that I do not have the time nor the space to get into here, then we see a pattern that begins to emerge, a pattern that points to a black and evil plan in progress, that the US and NATO have been engaged in for years. However, we won’t go there. Will we? Not today. We are better than that. Aren’t we?

Today is a day of mourning, my thoughts and wishes go out to all of those affected by this tragedy and are with those who perished, may they have found peace.

According to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) annex 13, on Russia befell the responsibility for investigating the accident as it occurred on Russian territory. Russia and Poland agreed even though the flight was flown by a military aircraft and Smolensk Northern is a joint civil-military airport not certified by ICAO.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appointed a special state commission to investigate the accident and placed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in charge.

Other parties were also involved in the investigation including the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), accredited investigators from Poland, the USA's National Transportation Safety Board, and the USA's Federal Aviation Administration.

The final accident report was published on the 12th of January 2011and placed the majority of the blame for the accident on the pilots.

This story is for you, provided that you are not subject to having to deal with censored news sources and are able to actually receive some information in some small way resembling the truth.

If you are able to actually get around all of the censors and media filters and can actually see some sort of real news and have heard about the fact that the US is training terrorist groups inside the US and are actually shocked or surprised by the news, then you are, perhaps as I am, still living in a dream world that does not exist anymore.

The world I am talking about may have existed in the dreams of the previous generation, it may have existed in our own misconceived notions when we our generation was younger, but it does not exist anymore, if it did at all. That naïve never-never land of justice and truth and peace and human rights.

What exists now and what has existed since 9-11 is a world of endless terror, mindless war to the ends of time and the endless stripping of your every right as a human being by an endless gun at your temple and boot in your face. And it does not matter what you or I want, or whether or not any of the us agree with what they are doing. Why doesn’t it matter? Well, for the main reason that what they are doing, be it torturing hundreds of innocent people, holding thousands without trial and incommunicado, or killing and destroying entire peoples, they are doing for our safety.

What I am getting at now are the endless calls by the US to arm the opposition in countries like Syria, Libya and anywhere else where the toppling of a government or the causing of instability is beneficial to the strengthening of the US position in the area. Calls which are becoming more and more frequent and more and more obvious and ever the more bolder with each passing day. In this case not just the opposition in some far away land but terrorists being trained in the US, and being sent to who knows where.

Recently another Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated in Iran and the entire US News cycle on the event was covered with speculation that it was the Iranians themselves and their “Evil Death Squads” who killed him, most sane people and many experts thought it was Israel, after all they had committed such acts before, but no one, especially, and first and foremost the US media, in no way connected the US with the attack.

Well thanks a Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative reporter for The New Yorker magazine, Seymour Hersh, we now know the truth, and it is blacker than anyone had imagined. Unfortunately US Officials are able to continue the line that they have nothing to do with such things. After all they only trained the terrorists, but still Hersh has shed some light into a very dark corner.

In an interview with Hersh, Amy Goodman with Democracy Now, reveals that starting in 2005 the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command was training terrorists from the group Mujahideen-e-Khalq, or MEK, a group which had been on the US State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization List since 1997, at a secret site inside the contiguous United States in the state of Nevada. The site is called the Nevada Nuclear Security or National Security Test Site and is a closed area for the general public, it is also the location of a secret air base which was used to fly the terrorists in and out of the country.

What is most revealing in Hersh’s interview is the number of times he negates the fact that the Iranians are attempting to build a nuclear weapon, even claiming to know firsthand at one point that the Iranians do NOT have a nuclear weapons program and this he says is known to Israeli and American Intelligence. Something that many experts have told me as well during the course of interviews, so as Mr. Hersh said, “…the United States is now increasing sanctions and putting all sorts of economic pressure on the Iranians to stop them from making a bomb that we know they’re not making.”

So why is the US really doing everything it can to build the case for an invasion of Iran? The answer may be obvious, but I will let you work it out.

North Korea's Failed Rocket: Is it a Game of Lose-Win or Win-Win? - By John Robles

South Korean people watch a TV screen showing a graphic of North Korea's rocket launch, at a train station in Seoul on April 13, 2012. Photo: AFP

Last night, while half the world was asleep, dreaming of whatever it is half the world normally dreams about, according to the reports which the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea has released to the world, it attempted to launch a meteorological satellite into orbit, a first for the country and the first time they have attempted to launch a rocket of that magnitude.

The noble deed was meant to raise the spirits of its people and was timed to mark the 100th birthday anniversary of the country’s first leader Kim Il Sung.

Unfortunately, according to Western sources, the rocket broke up a few minutes after take-off and the launch was a complete failure. Or was it? Regardless of what the world is told to believe there are many who will doubt the official version and hold the belief that the missile was shot down by benevolent Western powers who want to protect the world from the Axis of Evil. This could be regarded as a propaganda victory for the West.

On the other end of the spectrum North Korea also has a win to some point, they can claim, and no doubt it is true, that in the face of dire threats and extreme resistance, they stood up to the world’s policeman and launched their little rocket anyway. They can spread rumors that it was Western interference that caused the rocket to fail and continue trying. This, in turn, could be claimed as a propaganda victory by the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea.

Yet there is another aspect that perhaps North Korea, and those watching the situation, have not really thought about, and that is that the West needs North Korea to continue such activities, so regardless of what they do or the results of their attempts at creating weapons or advancing their technology, they will be playing into the West’s hands.

The only thing that North Korea could do, if it really wants to beat the West, is to completely hide its weapons programs, to protect it from a real invasion, and to appear to the world to have disarmed.

The West, in particular the United States and NATO need North Korea and Iran. They need them desperately in order to justify the billions upon they billions they are spending for the development of Reagan’s Star Wars shield and the expansion of NATO and its ABM system into the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific Region. Without these two countries NATO and its entire ABM shield and their global expansion become something unnecessary, something that few would likely support.

Yesterday we touched on the question why the West continues to call for sanctions against Iran and why do they continue putting pressure on the country to do something that they already know Iran is not doing; namely attempting to build nuclear weapons. According to one expert Iran may be dreaming about nuclear weapons but they are not doing anything to get them. This is well known by the US Government. So why continue the propaganda? Well because NATO and the US need a reason to continue their military expansion and their incursions on the sovereignty of half the world.

In that light the worst thing that North Korea could do now, for the West, is to either completely hide everything they are doing or to completely disarm. If they disarm there is the likelihood that they will be invaded so as to effect a regime change. But the West does not really want this. NATO needs North Korea to continue seeking to improve its technology so they can keep up their global escalation and claim they are protecting the world. For the same reason they need Iran to continue its nuclear program.

If the West decides they do not need Korea anymore to justify their own military escalation, then the country is in for a world of trouble and might quite possibly be the subject of the world’s next military intervention. Just some food for thought, thanks for checking in.

Russia, India, China urge diplomatic reaction to N. Korea’s failed space launch

Russia, India and China have called for resorting exclusively to political and diplomatic leverage to react to North Korea’s failed launch of a space satellite. This came in a statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following the talks of the three Foreign Ministers in Moscow earlier today. Lavrov urged all countries to show restraint and came out against slapping fresh sanctions on North Korea.

The North Korean mass media have admitted that the recent launch of a space satellite did take place but proved a failure.

The US air defenses detected the takeoff of the rocket-carrier, of which the first stage fell into the sea some 165 kilometres away from Seoul, while the two other stages are believed not to have detached themselves at all. It was in March that Pyongyang said it would launch a space satellite to mark the birth centenary of North Korea’s first leader, Kim Il Sung. The plan was strongly condemned by many countries, including Russia. The UN Security Council has banned North Korea from launching rockets that involve the use of ballistic missile technologies.

The launch of the North Korean rocket ended in failure according to reports by the U.S. government and Japan. The Pentagon reported that, according to preliminary data, the rocket broke up shortly after takeoff.

The UN Security Council will meet today in an emergency session to discuss an appropriate response.

Pyongyang’s plans to launch its own space rocket caused sharp condemnation from many countries, including Russia.

The international community fears that under the guise of attempting to place a satellite in orbit, North Korea may be testing a ballistic missile.

Pyongyang claimed that the mission had a peaceful goal, namely the placing into orbit of a satellite was to have performed meteorological functions.

The launch was timed, by the authorities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Koreas, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the country's first leader, Kim Il Sung.

South Korea's navy on Friday launched a salvage operation to retrieve the debris from North Korea's failed rocket launch, a military spokesman said Friday.

"We've located where the debris landed and we're making efforts to salvage it," the Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman told AFP.

China on Friday urged "calm" and "restraint" from all sides after North Korea's failed long-range rocket drew strong condemnation from the United States and its allies.

"We hope all relevant parties can maintain calm and restraint, and refrain from acts that would harm peace and stability on the peninsula and in the region," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement.

If your sister or your mother, your most cherished, loved and honored persons, were to be brutally murdered in the street and at the time had (now bear with me here I know this is terrible) some M and Ms, some tissues and say a lipstick in their purse and then some malcontented half-wit decided to create a picture (a work of art) of the killers face using M and Ms, some tissues and lipstick, wouldn’t that be something that would be completely and totally morally reprehensible and an abomination in the eyes of all civilized and peace loving humans?

Now let us take this one step further, or two, or three, or four, and trust me I trying to make a point here, and ask another question. Why can’t we take it one step further, they keep doing the same thing, anesthetizing the masses and getting them ready for even worse, getting them used to accepting even further horrors. Let’s ask a question and include even more sinister and global events, events and deeds destroying the very very fabric of society, global consciousness and humanity. Let’s ask another question, this time involving Afghani children, since they keep getting killed by the dozens, and ponder what the world’s reaction would be if someone had the sick and twisted idea to collect the items from the pockets of the dead children and then used them to produce a mosaic of say an American flag or even George Bush, wouldn’t that be an abomination?

What about if someone took the skulls of dead American Indians, a people destroyed by genocide and driven from their lands, and used them to make book ends, or candle holders, or start secret societies, where hate is worshipped and glorified, and even made into a code of conduct for some twisted and sick secret society bent on world domination through hate and death and manipulation.

Are you feeling ill yet picturing all of these horrors? Not let us take it further, and I feel we must for we must not be allowed to forget and what I have outlined above has been done, what if we collected items from the pockets and the hands of murdered Jews, murdered by the nazis (sic), and used them to produce a portrait of hitler (sic) or a swastika, that would be unthinkable wouldn’t it? Lest we forget or lest the historical revisionists have deleted some of the facts of the Holocaust from the history books, the Nazis did even worse things, they used the flesh of those they held in concentration camps, the Jews and others to make lampshades, wallets, book covers, soap and even cut off tattoos and saved them as tropies in albums, wasn’t all of that an abomination?

So on the eve of the birthday of the biggest monster in the history of all mankind, lest we forget and allow the historical revisionists any leeway, and with all of the historical revisionism and newfound tolerance for racism that is spreading throughout the world like a cancer on the wave of spreading American “democracy”, let me ask you all one more question, okay two; why would we then tolerate a sick individual making a portrait of the killer of Trayvon Martin with Skittles and then pretending to be sympathetic with the devil because he had a history of mental problems?

Not everything American is good and is to be welcomed with open arms and a conspiratory wink of the eye, no matter how cynical or sarcastic one wishes to be, accepting hate and letting it go by unaddressed and allowing it to spread is what happened in Germany in the 30s, it is not a sign of freedom of speech or democracy, for freedom of speech and true Democracy has with a huge responsible and that is to not allow it to be perverted by those cynical, sarcastic and hateful enough to do so for their own ends.

Just some more food for thought and I wish you all the best wherever you may be.

Best of the day to you all, or the night, wherever you may be and whatever the case may be. In the event that you have visited my little corner recently and wondered what had happened to me, I guess I owe you all an explanation, you see, my bosses, in their lovely wisdom, decided to let me take a few days off, and the timing could not have been better.

So many things have happened in the past week that it seems like I have been away for years, but that is how it is these days, isn’t it? The world and all of the events and people in it are moving at lightning speed. Is this good or bad? Doesn’t matter really, it is just the way it is and we have to deal with it, like it or not.

So, I have just gotten back from vacation, and it is nice, in a way. Vacations are good, few would argue and they are right, but idle hands are the Devil’s plaything, but oh how sweet… lounging about, sleeping in, or partying till you drop. However as with all good things, which end too soon, and too much of a good thing is also bad, it is time to move on, as the world has moved on, so there you have an enigma wrapped in a metaphor.

As the sun comes up I stretch out and bask in the morning sun savoring, relishing, soaking up, and luxuriating in the sunlight shining through my window, the hot sun kisses my skin, strange and pleasant and life giving after almost eight months of virtual darkness, freezing cold, and the brutal elements that go with winter this far north. The sun, so powerful so needed and so able to affect everything around us, brings new life into my old carcass blocking out almost everything else as it heals and nurtures my very soul. Sorry got carried away a little perhaps.

If you are fortunate or unfortunate, as the case may be, depending on how character-building you wish to views such things, and live in more moderate climes. You may say I sound half-cocked, ranting and raving about the sun and the weather as if something so benign could be something worth talking about, but if you have experienced decades of Russian winter you will probably understand me, you would know how weather can be a force which dictates how things are, how they will be and how it can be so powerful as to change your life, your psyche and your very existence.

I remember quite well my first full winter in Moscow, it was a doozy, with no exaggeration I did not see the sun, not even a slight five second glance through altocumulus, altostratus, cirrocumulus, cirrus, cumulonimbus, stratocumulus, or any other type of cloud or frozen or otherwise air-borne precipitation for more than eight months. With days that were less than six hours long, and temperatures that brutally did not move much higher than minus 25 degrees Celsius for months, it may not be too much of a stretch of the imagination to say it was like a frozen hell. But I, mad lover of cold, and things extreme, loved it….Except for one little thing, after six months of not seeing the sun it dampened the spirit…

So the sun has come to Moscow, and this year the transition from freezing winter to shirt sleeve heat took less than a week, I kid you not! The first day of my vacation I was still wearing my heavy winter coat, and there was still snow everywhere, on the third day I was watching rain fall outside the window and opening the windows to get a little fresh air as I walked around in shorts.

Getting used to such a weather change so fast is hard for some (sometimes it really feels as if the blood runs thicker in the winter like a big truck running number 2 diesel) and perhaps a major disappointment for those who invested heavily in spring collections, but it is what we have and I for one am glad.

Happy to be back, talk to you all tomorrow…. Enjoy the spring, or the fall for that matter, depending on where you are… Fall is also a wonderful thing…

Transparency, is it really something that we all need, or has it become an all encompassing overused catch phrase promulgated by certain governments and special interests as a cover word to strip away rights, sovereignty, and civil liberties? My belief has always been that when someone starts telling you change something, to simplify a process that really does not concern them or to give up your secrets and allow them into places they really should not be, you had better sound the alarms and take a very hard look at what they are really doing. When the parties in question tie their actions and your compliance to financial aid and other tempting carrots then it is time to call in the security people because you are being had my friend.

I am not against transparency, as I am sure few are, but there are limits I think to what should be and what should not be transparent. There must also be limits on “transparency” especially when dealing with areas where civil liberties and privacy rights are being trampled on, especially when we are talking about transparency for the government as it fulfills its role in protecting us, upholding the law and guaranteeing our security. This quite possibly most importantly applies to areas such as personal property rights, freedom of movement and association, and other areas where people should be allowed to possess the greatest amount of freedom possible. In order to guarantee our security we should not be trading security for freedom and that is the danger.

Who is calling for the transparency is also important. Is it the government calling for more transparency with regards to the transactions of financial institutions or the banking sphere? Or is it law enforcement wanting more access to people’s bank accounts or personal communications? Or perhaps it is one government or international body calling for the transparency of a certain country’s financial institutions or it political system or it scientific programs? Maybe it is one business group with financial interests in a certain sphere or industry? What are the motivations behind the calls for transparency and who benefits? All of these questions must be asked by officials and those in oversight positions.

If we hold to the tenet that transparency must not infringe on the freedoms or the sovereignty of a people or a country and that such trade-offs usually end with the people losing their freedoms or rights then, once again I must underline that we have to be very careful indeed when one country attempts to impose its will or standards on another with calls for transparency, regulation or other methods of control bringing into compliance with a certain set of standards or norms. Having said all of that we can look at calls by the US and its surrogates and certain allies and their calls for more transparency in Russia’s internal processes, not only the political system and it workings but also the military, industrial, educational, medical and other spheres.

During the 1990s, a tumultuous period for much of the world and especially for Eastern Europe with the collapse of the Soviet Union, many people and countries looked to the West for guidance and believed that the West had noble intentions and their best interests in mind, unfortunately due the naïveté of much of the world at the time no one really understood that regardless of what is being sold, the rule buyer beware must be tantamount even, when talking about things like accepting observers, reformers, analysts, and striving for “transparency”. It was during this period that American specialists were welcomed in Russia and allowed to do almost anything they wanted and almost anything they said was accepted and implemented.

In those days people like the current US ambassador to Russia were allowed to interface and finance all sorts of institutions and “opposition” groups, even allowed to interfere in the election processes of the country, and people trusted them and took their money and did what they were told to do. I know this is not true for everyone and maybe an oversimplification but it would take volumes to properly address all of the issues that existed in the 90s properly. This could not be more evident or clear as when the aforementioned individual returned to Russia not long ago, seeming to believe that the same cards were on the table and all of the players were still as naïve and trusting as they had been. Almost before even unpacking his suitcase he was meeting with his previous contacts in the Yabloko Party and according to reports in some of the Russian press even handing out payments along with instructions to “opposition” groups and figures before Russia’s presidential elections. All of this taking place against the background of a full-court-press by the West calling for more “transparency” and “democracy” and accusations of unfair parliamentary elections.

With all of their efforts against Vladimir Putin, and of course this is what it was all about, wasn’t it? The “opposition” came out, in numbers which were disappointing for the West, some of the rallies having almost as many members of the press as they did demonstrators. They tied up traffic caused a general feeling of discontent among the population and gave malcontents something to focus on. The “opposition” who have no one to thank but Mr. Putin, many of them, for the very ability to protest, became a fad, unfocussed and with no real alternative, but ready to gather and protest. The results they achieved were not what they were supposed to, however regardless of the low numbers they cost the Russian authorities billions of rubles and distracted and redirected resources and people from locations and events where they could have been better used.

In other areas Russia also spent billions and used resources to stand up to the challenges of the West and set about implementing scores of changes, including the never-before-tried installation of web cameras which filmed the ballot boxes, the allowing of over half a million election observers, new improved ballots, literally “transparent” ballot boxes and more, all done to be more “transparent”, all costing money and resources which could have been used for other things.

So is Russia now more transparent? To whom? To the West? Is all this transparency really necessary? For Russia herself I would say things are pretty much the way they were. All of the steps taken during the last presidential elections changed nothing in reality because the system, even though there were some minor faults and areas that were being abused, was already working the way it was supposed to.

What has now transpired, in my opinion, is that Russia now has one of the most “Democratic” elections systems in the world, no doubt fairer than that of the USA with its draconian districting and delegate counts, its electronic ballot boxes which provide no paper record and worst of all, the complete prohibition on observers.

Yes a prohibition on observers, by the same country that demands to place observers anywhere and everywhere they wish. In case you did not know the US refuses to allow UN or any other observers to monitor their own elections, which is strange really if you think about it. Many Americans believe this would undermine their sovereignty. So one must ask; why should Russia or any other country for that matter, allow in observers? Is their sovereignty or that of the Russian Federation worth less than that of the US? No. So why doesn’t Russia start pressuring the US to be more transparent? There are in reality so many areas we could start with.

In closing according to RIA-Novosti, recently the deputy head of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Alexander Pochinok, said that, the yet to be released PACE report on Russia’s presidential elections is realistic while its criticism is logical and the violations in the course of the election were insignificant and did not affect the outcome. Also commenting on the report, the mission’s head, Dutch Senator Tiny Kox, said the monitors stated the March 4th presidential elections “had a clear winner” and were more transparent than previous polls.

Okay Russia has spent billions and its election system has become more “transparent” for those watching from the outside, but once again I ask, were all of the changes really worth it, and for the sake of national security, should we all really be so transparent?

As the Russian Federation prepares to celebrate Victory in the Great Patriotic War a new dawn has come to Russia as the country inaugurated its new democratically elected president, a president elected in one of the most closely watched and one of the most unprecedentedly transparent elections ever held in modern history.

President Elect Putin, having previously been elected to two four year terms, will be the first Russian president to hold office for a six year term, something now mandated by the Russian Constitution.

The world is also watching the events unfold here in Russia, and for many countries and many people the world over, it is also a new dawn. Many look to Russia and in particular to Vladimir Putin as the last hope to counter the global expansion and what many see as the subjugation and enslavement of the world by the culturally insensitive and morally destitute west and its surrogates.

As a genius in global politics and the leader of the largest country in the world Vladimir Putin is perhaps the only leader in the world who has the potential and the chance to return the world to its once multi-polar state, something that people all over the world are dreaming of as they become more and more disillusioned with the US and its fast food culture and policy of pre-emptive aggressive war and its blatant global military expansion.

Today when the symbols of presidential power, the presidential badge, copy of the constitution and the presidential standard were passed from President Dmitry Anatolevich Medvedev to President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Russia celebrated its young and vibrant democracy, a democracy more and more based on Russian ideals and a Russian model than that propagated by the West.

Despite the overall festive and positive mood in the country inauguration day has not passed without conflict as, on the eve, Western backed forces attempted to stage acts of provocation. Inauguration day is a day which must be respected for it is a day which embodies what in fact is democracy, the choosing of a leader by the popular vote of the people, for that is what has taken place in a fair and orderly manner.

The immensely popular Vladimir Putin has been chosen by the people again. A moral, upstanding, humble, intelligent, capable, strong and tireless leader with an immaculate political record, long term vision for Russia and the Russian people and the courage to draw the line when it is necessary, is now to run the largest country in the world once again and to lead it into a bright future and must be supported by all of us.

Below is a short biography of President Putin courtesy of the President’s site.

1960-68 studied at school #193, then school #281 and graduated in 1970. During his school years Putin proved himself to be a remarkable student especially when it came to studying languages. When he was 11 he entered a wrestling league, engaged in martial arts and judo. Putin became a master sportsman and a champion in Leningrad.

1970 entered juridical faculty of the Leningrad State University and graduated in 1975. He entered the Communist Party when he was a student and stayed its member till its prohibition in 1991.

1975-1990 worked in KGB in the First main directorate (foreign intelligence) and specialized in German-speaking countries.

Sometime around the end of ‘70s beginning of 1980s he graduated from the Moscow KGB Institute.

1981-87 worked in Germany (watched Russian students, controlled Socialistic Party of Germany, investigated anti-socialistic acts).

1987-90 worked as an assistant dean at LSU ( Leningrad State University) with international contacts (watched foreign students). Putin was a KGB resident at LSU.

1990 became a councilor of A. Sobchak, president of Lensovet (Leningrad Central Council).

1991 he was appointed as president of Exterior Contacts Committee (ECC) of the city hall. In the beginning of 1992 he was transferred into active reserve by the KGB.

1994, March. Putin was appointed as the first vice-president of the Saint-Petersburg government – president of the Exterior Contacts Committee.

1995, May. He was the chief of the organizational committee of the OHR’s (Our Home is Russia – political party) Saint-Petersburg section. In the summer of 1995 he managed OHR’s electoral campaign.

1996, He joined the Saint-Petersburg headquarters of the Russian movement of the social support of the President (RMSSP), which united organizations supporting the re-election of Boris Yeltsin.

In the spring of 1996 Putin worked with Sobchak’s electoral campaign. When Sobchak lost, Putin retired from all his positions. Soon he received an invitation from P. Borodin, one of the Yeltsin’s managers, to be his deputy. He accepted it and worked in this position from June of 1996 till March of 1997.

1997, March. Putin became vice-president of the President’s Administration. In June he retired from the OHR.

1999, December – 2000, March he took over the duties of president of the Russian Federation from an ailing, and by then, completely ineffective Boris Yeltsin.

Many countries all over the world have serious social and political problems that lead to popular unrest, demonstrations, instability, and in the extreme, to revolutions and the over-throwing of governments.

One of those countries, and in fact one of the worst transgressors when it comes to social justice, human rights and personal freedoms is the United States of America, with its dozens of simmering internal conflicts, reasons for massive discontent and massive underlying culture of oppression.

The list is long and it is a daunting task to choose where to begin, but almost any of the issues I would like to mention are enough and would be enough to cause massive strife, if not for the fact that the United States of America is a police state.

Let us start with that then if you will, for it is this fear of the government that will in the end lead to its downfall. The US has for too long tried and for the most part succeeded in ruling with an iron fist, this can be testified to by the percentage of the US population in the prison system or incarcerated at the local level. Imprisonment and the taking away of freedom is one of the favored tools of the American government. This has almost reached a level that can be called out of control since September 11, 2001.

Another fact that must be looked at when making such an assessment is something that no one is allowed to speak about, neither within the format of an internal political or social debate nor when making international assessments, it is taboo, and for the most part fear of point one, and the state control of the media keeps the debate in check. What I am talking about is the institutionalized racism that exists in the US. As members of the white race group love to say, and you better agree because it is a white man’s world, racism does not exist. If a black or other non-white member of society makes such an accusation or dares to speak out, it is usually white judges or white members of the system that come to the finding that racism does not in fact exist, and thus the system keeps the white members of society in power, in all of the top level jobs and in control of the government.

This is a subject that deserves much more debate and careful analysis than I can give it here, but when cases like Trayvon Martin bring the debate to the forefront and comparisons are made where the state of racism in America is said to be at 1950 levels, it is clear this is a still a disease that Americans have yet to deal with openly honestly and with a mind to end it. Of course those who benefit will do anything to make sure this never happens, even the Ku Klux Klan is satisfied with current level of affairs anhd maintains their official stance that when the status quo is under threat they will begin their hangings again.

Other societal problems include Indian rights, immigrant rights, religious persecution, an educational system that is inaccessible to most of the population, the lack of decent well paying jobs, unfair housing practices, unfair lending and banking rules, police brutality, lack of privacy, lack of real freedom of movement, an unforgiving legal system, no real retirement or social net for the elderly, a nationwide housing problem, homelessness, lack of accessible and affordable medical care, incredibly high taxes and no redress, endless wars against abstract enemies and the list goes on and on, including indefinite detention without trial and even death at the hands of the state if you are deemed an enemy.

All of the aforementioned are real and existing problems that have affected American society for decades but only now that they are beginning to affect large sections of the white population are they being talked about, thanks to the Occupy Movement. So why am I talking about all of this in a piece about the Russian opposition? Well, because all of these are real reasons for protests and rallies and demonstrations and because Russia has almost none of these problems.

So what is the Russian opposition about? Depending on who you talk to there are many reasons. However no one agrees on anything except that Putin is bad. Why? Just because. They can not offer anything concrete or factual but the accusations are as many as their fantasies allow.

What could they be protesting? Artificially high real estate prices would be at the top of my list, but the opposition will not talk about that because most of the “opposition” are people with their own flats who are able to rent out their flats at incredibly unrealistically high prices and get good credit to buy their expensive cars due to artificially high real estate values. This also keeps young people at home and prevents them from buying a flat and even renting one. That is something else that people could protest. By the way President Putin is already looking at these issues. They could be protesting healthcare which is attempting to follow the US model and become super expensive, without the same level of service, something else Mr. Putin has looked at.

What else? Jobs? Corruption? Pensions? President Putin has done more to create jobs, fight corruption, and increase pensions than any other figure in Russian politics. So then what?

Maybe there are a few people sucked into opposition rallies who have real beefs, but there are legal ways and means in place in Russia for people who really want to make a difference and the organizers and funders of these events are not interested in such lowly people and their causes. You don’t see exploited workers at these rallies, or people from other cities, or non-Russians, or pensioners, or any of the others who might really have something to complain about. Why because they trust and voted for Putin and they love Putin.

Who do we see at these rallies? Mainly dissatisfied Muscovites, with their own flat(s) who they rent out and don’t pay taxes on, who drive expensive foreign cars, and were empowered by President Putin’s as well as President Medvedev’s policies on business, property ownership, taxation and freedom of speech. Most of these people are followers of Yavlinsky and his Yabloko Party, long funded by the West, and other Western leaning or Western funded “democratic” groups.

What do they want? Exactly what those at the US Embassy want who are funding their activities (according to Russian media) just get rid of the democratically elected and very popular president Vladimir Putin and make Russia look as bad as possible.

What has the opposition done to get what they want? Do they challenge the leadership to debates, or introduce alternative plans, or candidates that are trusted and believed and loved by the people? No! Do they engage in constructive debate or fund and promote peaceful change? Do they formulate workable plans to improve the situation in an area that might be improved? Do they advocate even one position that the people agree on? No? If they do please tell me because I have missed it.

So in reality, please, what have they done? Tied up traffic? Throw rocks at and spit on the police? Exaggerate and promote anything that can cause unrest, civil disorder and problems for the authorities. Nothing positive. Yet we are almost not allowed to speak about them, or it must be done with a disclaimer, lest we be accused by the ever present West of being undemocratic or stifling dissent, by the West, what a joke, the very masters at stifling dissent and shutting up the opposition.

In reality people are afraid to talk back at the opposition, lest they not be given their Shengen or American visas or appear on some US Embassy black list as I have. So I renounced the US. Maybe they are right to be scared. I mean isn’t that what the US is expert at in controlling the masses? First their own American masses and now the world’s masses? Yes sirree Bob, if you bad mouth the US you may be the target of a drone strike. And lo and behold if you dare to go up against the US interference into the affairs of a sovereign nations, you will end up in the worst of places my friend. They will get you. Doesn’t matter if you are not even a US citizen like Victor Bout, they will come and get you wherever you are.

I think it is time for the “opposition” to wake up but can they? They are so tied into believing a dream propagated by the West, a dream that is not and never will be for them. They have been manipulated by Western mass media into believing the lies and the propaganda of the West to a degree that they are blind to the very facts right in front of them. Or they have been threatened and made afraid to speak their minds or stand up to the West in fear of facing economic, business or other retribution or being denied some privilege like a multi-entry visa.

So, please opposition, you have been given so much attention and media coverage and have failed to put a message across. Be constructive and organize and work within the democratic legal framework of the Russian constitution if you really have something to say other than parroting the orders of your western masters.

Steadfastly continuing the (perhaps not so) new American tradition of stripping the American people of their freedoms, oppressing them

Steadfastly continuing the (perhaps not so) new American tradition of stripping the American people of their freedoms, oppressing them and if need be eliminating them altogether, all in the name of safety, security and in order to save them from the evil terrorists hiding behind every tree, those evil Russians, the Iranians and North Korea, Chicago prepares to host a showcase summit for the world’s top war machine, an organization that will soon completely dominate and control the entire planet if the architects behind it have their way.

Do the people in Chicago want the summit? No, but it doesn’t really matter, those in power want it. In the vernacular we will call them the 1%, they are also known as the elites, the globalists and what have you. It doesn’t really matter what you call them, they are those born to privilege who have little value for human life (other than their own of course) and who expertly manipulate and feed off the pain, grief, work, blood, sweat and tears of the common people.

Shamelessly and blood thirstingly profiteering from the death and destruction of what has become non-stop global war, from the illegal narcotics trade that decimates the poor and what they consider to be undesirable segments of the world’s population, and even from the illegal black market trade in human organs, no matter what stage of the bloody circle you focus on they (the 1%) are there, to benefit and profit. Which is why, in a nutshell, the 99% of us must protest, and stand up, before it is my eye they want, or your kidney, or your baby sister’s liver or they decide we are completely expendable without even bothering to harvest our organs.

Lest I digress, let’s look at what they (the 1%) have planned for the peaceful demonstrators who already have to must up huge levels of bravery, and in the words of one Occupier I spoke to; “…be ready to sacrifice my body… for the cause.” But before we do let’s look at who all of these preparations are being planned for.

In case you have been on a deserted island, in another galaxy, or in a country that just doesn’t give a toot about what is going on in the US and know nothing about the Occupy movement let me fill you in real quick.

For decades the US has been on the verge of a complete and total societal breakdown. It had been repressed minorities, immigrants and the poor who have classically gotten poorer as the rich have gotten richer. These segments of the US population were growing more and more difficult to control and events were needed to crack down. 9-11 was that event. Then the election of a black president kept most of the minorities placated. So the elites, once again emboldened decided to decimate the middle class, classically made up of white Americans, and this gave birth to the Occupy Movement.

The Occupiers are not the radical Black Panthers or the hippies of the ‘60s. They are peaceful, educated and even a little nerdy and are becoming more and more organized and focused. Their addition to number of discontent masses is dangerous for the elites. Together they may now have the power to cut off the profiteering feeding frenzy that the elites have been on for decades.

How will these educated, discontent, and peaceful groups be dealt with? Well, with what the US Government does best, maximum force and violence and the stripping of civil and human rights! Sorry for the rhetorical question. How dare them protest the killing by the elites and their world domination! There will also be an unprecedented campaign of intimidation and “fear mongering” in order to keep the number of protesters to a minimum.

In a preview, the Chicago Police Department, one of the few if not the only police department in the US and perhaps the world as well, to have had to call a moratorium on torture, has began arresting these malcontents. Yesiree Bob, they must be stopped.

So far more than 20 people have been arrested with 3 people who were stopped and intimidated by police being made examples of. Last week Jared Chase, Brent Beterly, and Brian Jacob Church who arrived in Chicago from Florida, were surrounded by several police squad cars and detained for no apparent reason. They were questioned about why they were in Chicago and what they planned to do during the NATO summit. They happened to record the encounter and posted an edited version on YouTube and then the entire video on the internet.

On Wednesday night police raided several homes and apartments and arrested 9 activists. Police broke down doors with guns drawn and searched residences without a warrant or consent. After holding them without charges for 48 hours the police released 6 of those arrested and filed the most serious charges possible against the 3 innocent Occupy activists from Florida, including possession of explosives or incendiary devices, material support for terrorism, and conspiracy. A gas can and some empty bottles in the car led to the explosives charges.

In an official statement released to the press the National Lawyers Guild, an official US wide organization for lawyers, Sarah Gelsomino with the NLG and the People's Law Office, said the following: "The National Lawyers Guild deplores the charges against Occupy activists in the strongest degree. It's outrageous for the city to apply terrorism charges when it's the police who have been terrorizing activists and threatening their right to protest."

The media is also being controlled, in a document titled NOT INTENDED FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION. FOR MEDIA GUIDANCE ONLY, the Chicago Police Department has set out rules for the press, targeting independent journalists in particular with passages such as the following: ”...media access generally will be the same as public access. Credentials will, however, allow media personnel access to media-only areas. No “cutting” in and out of police lines will be permitted, or “going up against their backs.” Those who follow protesters onto private property to document their actions are also will be subject to arrest if laws are broken.” ”Any member of the media who is arrested will have to go through the same booking process as anyone else. Release of equipment depends on what part the equipment played in the events that led to the arrest.”

An Chicago’s mayor, Rahm Emanuel has used the event to install permanent changes which strip away even more rights and freedoms from the people. The new measures include:

1. Authorization for the Mayor to purchase and deploy surveillance cameras throughout the city, without any type of oversight.

2. Restrictions on public activity, including amplified sound and morning gatherings.

3. Restrictions on parades, including the requirement to purchase an insurance policy worth $1 million and to register every sign or banner that will be held by more than one person.

4. The power to deputize many different types of law enforcement personnel other than the Chicago Police Department.

Protests have been drawn from the ACLU, Amnesty International, the Occupy Movement.

The summit has also been designated a National Special Security Event (NSSE) by the Department of Homeland Security thus passing final authority over law enforcement to the US Secret Service.

The Chicago police are armed to the teeth and have even ordered special armor for the horses of the mounted police.

According to Occupy Chicago, they are; “… organizing a week of actions highlighting the violence and oppression of NATO, and calling for the organization to be disbanded.”

$37 million for public relations for a 2 day event, and that is the amount that has been made public. When this amount of money is being spent one has to ask oneself some serious questions.

$37 million for public relations for a 2 day event, and that is the amount that has been made public. When this amount of money is being spent one has to ask oneself some serious questions. This amount of money is not spent for public relations when you have something positive to say or sell and in this case that completely applies.

What they are in fact trying to sell to the American public is an organization that is; no matter how you package it, a war machine. It is not one that can be called a very successful one either, nor is it one that is needed or particularly wanted by the American people. If the over-taxed American people realized that of the almost 50% of their salaries that they are paying for taxes, a large part of it and the over 65 years of debt that is being passed along to their children, is also being spent not only to fund all of the American war machines and the US military adventures all over the world, but it is also being used to provide approximately 79% of the funding for an organization that should have been disbanded over 20 years ago and one that it not even really wanted by the people it is supposed to be protecting Europe.

With the failure of Afghanistan, possibly the fact that more and more people are becoming aware of NATO’s role in supporting the illegal black market organ trade and drug traffickers in the former Yugoslavia, the ongoing provocations against the Russian Federation, a missile defense shield against an enemy (Iran) that no one really believes is a threat, waning public support for the endless “War on Terror” a euphemism for the global endless killing of members of the Islamic faith (and anyone else for that matter) who are against US interests, and an economic crisis that sees no end in sight soon; Europeans and their countries are beginning to cut their funding for NATO.

$37 million, in the lead up to the NATO Summit in Chicago this is the amount that corporate sponsors and they are many, have publicly admitted to having gathered to promote NATO to the American public. Who are these sponsors? Well the list is long but here are a few of the smaller ones and you may be surprised: Chicago Young Republicans, the National Strategy Forum, the Arab-American Business Association, the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce, Human Rights Watch (yes, the same one), the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater (What!?!). The big corporate sponsors include: General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Technologies, the Atlantic Richfield Company, Xerox, IBM, Security Pacific Bank and State Farm Insurance.

With an annual budget of what some sources calculate at being close to half a trillion dollars ($500 billion) from the US side approximately $400 billion, this is a hugely profitable cash cow for all of these companies, never mind that their business is death and destruction… That is also good because there are slew of American companies waiting in the shadows to make billions on reconstruction and lucrative business deals on the new “democracies’ they install.

And that it what it is all about after all promoting the US position. Advancing US global domination, securing unfettered access to the world’s oil and natural resources, resources needed desperately by a country that consumes more than 48% of the world’s total.

In a recent statement the Honorable R. Nicholas Burns former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, among his other titles, said the following; “NATO is facing new challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing global economic, political, and security environment.” and quoted former U.S. Secretary of D0efense Robert Gates who in 2011 warned of “a dim, if not dismal future” for the transatlantic alliance, unless member states strengthened their cohesion, coordination, and commitments.

What are the new challenges that he is talking about? Well in reality, the organization is truly irrelevant as it was originally set up. The changing economics he speaks about are what we have talked about already, Europe is in a crisis and the funding for NATO is not what it used to be, although after 9-11 it has risen to above cold war levels. Europe does not want to pay for an organization that is clearly failing in Afghanistan and other theaters.

Politically speaking NATO should have been disbanded when the Warsaw Pact was dissolved because that was its chief rival and as for security this is also relevant. The new challenges and opportunities exist more for the US than for NATO as the US seeks to increasingly use NATO to advance its interests, in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arctic, Africa, the former Soviet area and now, if one follows NATO with even a passing interest, it is clear the US wishes to use its proxy to advance its interests in the Asia – Pacific region and in fact anywhere elsewhere there is oil in particular or other resources.

NATO plans to expand globally and is well on its way to doing so. It vision of a single world military organization able to dominate any country or region in the world and strike any target in the world within minutes is close to becoming a reality. NATO does not answer to the UN nor does it answer to any international organization. It is not interested in peace or equilibrium in the world. NATO exists to promote and advance the wishes, the policies, the politics, the interests and the position of a the US and its subservient allies. It is a US tool of terror, death and destruction and it must be stopped.

At the NATO summit in Chicago, the Baltic countries proved one of the most successful for NATO in its fundraising drive, with the countries announcing that they are going to increase their contributions to NATO’s coffers. Of course all of these billions of dollars are not being given for nothing, which is strange because in reality they are selling their souls to NATO and actually paying the devil for the “privilege”.

In a speech at the North Atlantic Council Barack Obama spoke in golden tones about NATO’s Air Policing Mission over the Baltic States and at the summit it was called “…one of the most successful examples of NATO solidarity.” NATO solidarity? We are talking about an organization designed and born against the Soviet Union. What exactly are they so in solidarity over? As they have no real enemy, then what imagined ones? Or just advancing US interests? What does policing the airspace over the Baltic countries have to do with “solidarity”?

The NATO summit actually did some real work as a total of 13 documents were given the green light. These include the Chicago Summit Declaration and a ten year plan of enhancements called NATO Forces 2020. The members agreed to implement what they are calling “smart defense” and “connected forces” initiatives aimed at improving the use of joint military, financial and technological assets. Under the “smart defense” program come missile defense systems and the Air Policing mission over the Baltics.

The mission over the Baltics is important for Lithuania and the president of the country fawned repeatedly over NATO. According to the press service of the Lithuanian president the country had “…achieved and reaffirmed all the goals it sought to ensure the security of their country and people.” Again the question pops up, against whom? She also said, Lithuania’s membership in NATO is now real and full-fledged and that they have security guarantees that they will be protected and defended.

Georgia is another story, bending over backward and fawning over NATO. Fawning NATO spokes puppet Mihail Sakashvili could not have been more over the top in his almost groveling manner before NATO. He was ever so grateful and vocal at the mere fact that his country was put in the context of being one of three Balkan NATO aspirant countries. He said it was progress and that the aspirant countries would, as everybody knows, join NATO. Despite no real progress he said that Georgia, “…had done its homework did not like to look like the best student in the class that still could not make it to the next year... When will we graduate? We don't know yet," Saakashvili said. He fawned over Georgia being put “…into the basket of Balkan countries,” and that it was a "…geographical coup" putting Georgia into the west.

In the summit declaration, the NATO leaders continue to state that Georgia will join NATO but again no one knows when. Regardless of the fact that he is being led around with a carrot, Sakashvili continued to fawn and even lashed out at the new anti-NATO, Occupy demonstrators calling them "relics of the past" and saying that the cold war relic that is NATO was, “…as relevant now as never before.” The disconnect was not only evident from the Georgian side, NATO reciprocated.

The NATO declaration says that NATO supports reforms in Georgia, in all spheres but as an almost admission to Sakashvili’s status as what many call a dictator, the alliance stresses, “… the importance of conducting free, fair, and inclusive elections in 2012 and 2013.” The declaration also mentions Georgia’s “full compliance” with the 2008 ceasefire agreement and Tbilisi’s non-use of force promise, and takes a stab at Russia, calling “…on Russia to reciprocate.” NATO repeated, as they did during the 2009 and 2010 summits, that Russia should; “…reverse its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.”

The declaration states that NATO is grateful to Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, which “aspire to NATO membership.” “…for the important contributions they are making to NATO-led operations, and which demonstrate their commitment to our shared security goals,” unquote. Again the document mentions abstract ambiguous “shared goals”.

For those of you who have been dozing, this may be clearer by provocative statements preparing the way for increased hostilities with Russia, saying that for the following statement attributed to the “President” ; “The Summit repeats NATO’s focus on the military build-up in Kaliningrad and is prepared to strengthen cooperation with Russia, but that Russia is contradicting its declared aspiration to develop a strategic partnership with NATO.”

Little talk of Iran and who the global missile shield is being built against, “wink-wink”. No mention that Russia has been requesting written guarantees that the intensive militarization along its own borders by NATO is not against its own deterrent. No mention that the US has refused to provide any written guarantees whatsoever, “trust us” wink-wink. No mention that Georgia invaded South Ossetia and killed Russian citizens and peacekeepers, no mention of anything of substance really, more of a reaffirming-back-patting-feel-good-fundraiser. So get out those checkbooks and keep paying for the war and death that is NATO, after all they keep shoving their missiles in Russia’s face and keep protecting you against the phantom menaces that they keep telling you are threatening you. What else can they do as they try to stay relevant?

For many of the Serbian people the recent election was just more of the same. For all of the conflicting views and opinions most of the population agreed on two things, corruption is too high and Tadic was not working for the betterment of Serbia.

Lackluster voter turnout saw less than 45% of the population coming out to vote with the final election results leaving Nikolic with 49.4% and Tadic 47.4%, thus denying him a third term in office. For many the results were a surprise.

Serbia has a multi-party system and safeguards in place to prevent one party from gaining complete power. In the Serbian system parties must work together and form coalition governments. A party must receive at least 5.0% of the votes for the entire country during parliamentary in order to qualify for seats. What are called national minority parties only have to reach 0.40% of the vote to secure seats in the parliament.

As for the position and the powers of the president of Serbia, according to the constitution, the president has no executive powers, he or she represents the nation at home and abroad, signs and approves laws adopted by the Parliament, names ambassadors to foreign countries, receive and accepts the foreign ambassadors of other countries in Serbia and decides on a number of other state matters. Being as such, much of the country was dissatisfied due to Tadic’s influence and presence being felt in every sphere of government and beyond.

The West’s propaganda machine was all wound up and ready for the results as their candidate, Tadic lost the election, and immediately reports spread that there was a shocking tun of events in Serbia and that the new Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic is a veteran “ultranationalist”. Reports spread like wildfire calling the 60-year-old former cemetery manager, “Toma; The Gravedigger” and citing how he was a loyal follower of Vojislav Seselj whose trial is under way in The Hague, Netherlands.

His support for the Serbian people and Serbia was called supporting “warmongering in the former Yugoslavia” by the western media who also vilify that he fought on the side of Serbia during the war with the Croats. The western press has also made much ado about the fact that Nikolic was the deputy prime minister in Milosevic's government in 1999 when NATO invaded the country.

Stating without a doubt who President Tomislav Nikolic really is and what his real plans for Serbia are is something that it too early to do. Many pro-Serbia activists and politicians, including many of my contacts in Serbia, say that he (Nikoloic) is just another pro-Western instrument and that it is not possible for anyone who has an anti-NATO anti-West position to win office.

Politicians like Dr. Jovan Deretic, who was not certified to run for president and whose supporters claim he was not allowed to do so because of his anti-NATO pro-Serbian views were almost nowhere to be seen during the elections, kept away by those in power. Dr. Deretic and other activists in Serbia claim that up to 1 million votes were stolen; this included but was not limited to: the use of dead people’s names as well as votes counted belonging to Albanians who did not have documents to vote in Serbian elections.

To have an inkling of who President Tomislav Nikolic is we can look at his past statements and his record. In 2008, Nikolic formed his own Serbian Progressive Party but remained staunchly pro-Russian. Many say this was only lip service as he also supported Serbia's membership in the European Union, something he was quick to repeat as soon as he won office. That, and the fact that the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, and of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, both issued a statement from the NATO Summit in Chicago, congratulating Nikolic on his victory three hours before the polls closed, points to a candidate placed in power by the West and will do little to help with his credibility and gain him the support of pro-Serbian elements both within Serbia and abroad.

On May 20th in an address to his supporters at his party’s headquarters in Belgrade Nikolic said "Serbia must develop its economy. The things I pointed out during the campaign must be improved. We have to free ourselves of poverty. We must free ourselves of the low birth rates, bribery, corruption and have friends all over the world."

Some experts, such as Dragan Bujosevic the editor in chief of the main Serbian newspaper Politika, predict that Tadic's Democrats are likely to form a new government with the Socialists led by Ivica Dacic which will leave Nikolic without any real power.

One fact that may point to where he is headed is the fact that Nikolic has close ties with Russia and has in the past even envisaged Serbia as a Russian province, according to many press reports. Another is the fact that Nikolic has vowed to keep alive Serbia's claim over Kosovo. Serbia has rejected Kosovo's declaration of independence, as Kosovo is a part of Serbia. By many it is seen as the cradle of the Serbian state, the Serbian people and the Serbian Orthodox Church.

For me this is the key matter as there can be no discussion about Serbia and its future without touching on the subject of the reintegration of Kosovo into Serbia. The west has backed and supported the Albanians who claimed the territory of Kosovo was their own, another example of NATO once again taking the side of one or another belligerent party, something that has done more than NATO’s bombing and occupation to destroy the Serbian people; something that has to stop.

As many Serbians say: “There can be no Serbian history without Kosovo” and "Kosovo is Serbian, Kosovo is Serbia!"

In Eastern Afghanistan on Saturday night NATO was involved in another “incident”, as NATO calls them, involving the deaths of large numbers of civilians. This time NATO forces killed a family of eight people, including six children, in the Paktia province.

Many experts say the “incident” threatens to further strain the already tense relationship between President Hamid Karzai and his Western backers. Some analysts claimed Karzai’s recent trip to the NATO Summit in Washington served to slightly smooth the already tense relationship but this latest incident may cause another wave of violence in the country and force Karzai to have to take stronger steps against the “occupiers”.

According to a local government spokesperson in an interview with the AFP the eight people were killed in a NATO air strike and included a husband and wife and their six children.

The official, one Rohulla Samouni, stated that none of the members of the family had ties with the Taliban or other terrorist group. He said NATO aircraft bombed a house. A man named Mohammad Sahfi his wife and their six innocent children were brutally murdered.

— There have been many similar such cases in 2012 in Afghanistan. For example on February 17, 2012, six civilians, including a woman and a child were killed in a NATO night raid in Dewa Gul Valley, in the Chawki district of Kunar province.

—Then on February 8, seven children and a young adult were killed in a NATO airstrike in the village of Geyaba in the eastern Afghan province of Kapisa.

—March 11, 2012 saw at least 16 civilians, including women and children killed after a 'rogue' US serviceman entered their homes murdered them.

The War in Afghanistan has already lasted for more than 10 years (2001–present) and killed tens of thousands of Afghan civilians directly as well as the deaths of tens of thousands more indirectly as a consequence of displacement, starvation, disease, exposure, lack of medical treatment, crime and lawlessness resulting from the war.

President Hamid Karzai has summoned foreign military commanders and made public statements to warn of the consequences of further Afghan civilian deaths many times.

—"We are not happy. We don't want any more Afghan civilian casualties." "This must not occur again." President Hamid Karzai, July 2002

—"I don’t think there is a big need for military activity in Afghanistan anymore." "Similarly, going into the Afghan homes – searching Afghan homes without the authorization of the Afghan government – is something that should stop now." President Hamid Karzai, September 2005

—In May 2006, Afghan President Hamid Karzai summoned the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, to demand an explanation for the deaths of at least 16 Afghan civilians during air strikes.

—In December 2006, a tearful President Hamid Karzai gave a heartfelt speech that brought audience members to tears, Karzai said the cruelty imposed on his people "is too much" and that Afghanistan cannot stop "the coalition from killing our children."

—"Five years on, it is very difficult for us to continue accepting civilian casualties. It is becoming heavy for us; it is not understandable anymore." "We are very sorry when the international coalition force and NATO soldiers lose their lives or are injured. It pains us. But Afghans are human beings, too." President Hamid Karzai, May 2, 2007

—In June 2007, after the deaths of more than 90 civilians in 10 days, President Hamid Karzai accused ISAF and the US-led military coalition in his country of "extreme" and "disproportionate" use of force.

—"Afghan life is not cheap and it should not be treated as such." "Several times in the last year, the Afghan government tried to prevent civilian casualties, but our innocent people are becoming victims of careless operations of NATO and international forces." President Hamid Karzai, June 23, 2007

—On October 28, 2007, in an interview on 60 Minutes, Hamid Karzai stated that he had explicitly asked U.S. President George W. Bush to roll back the use of air strikes, which had killed more than 270 civilians in 17 air strikes to date in 2007 alone.

— In August 2008, President Hamid Karzai ordered a review of foreign troops in Afghanistan after 96 civilians were killed in an air strike in Herat.

—"The continuation of civilian casualties can seriously undermine the legitimacy of fighting terrorism and the credibility of the Afghan people's partnership with the international community." President Hamid Karzai, September 24, 2008

— On November 5, 2008, Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to put an end to civilian casualties in Afghanistan after an air strike on a wedding party, killing 37 people, including 23 children and 10 women.

— In April 2009, American-led military forces killed 5 civilians, including two children and a nine-month-old baby, in a U.S. night raid in Khost province

—In March 2011, Karzai rejected American President Obama's and Gen. David Petraeus' apologies for the killing of 9 Afghan boys ages 7–13 who were collecting firewood. "The apology is not enough," Karzai said

— In May 2011, Karzai issued a "final warning" as more civilians were killed in NATO airstrikes. He said the Afghan people can no longer tolerate the attacks, and that the U.S.-led coalition risks being seen as an "occupying force".

The court-martial hearing in the Bradley Manning case is scheduled to be held in September and according to statements

The court-martial hearing in the Bradley Manning case is scheduled to be held in September and according to statements released by the defense team and a recent filing at the Fort Meade, Maryland military court, they are being hampered by the state’s inadequate response with regards to the production of evidence, including delays and even failure to disclose, that may prove their client’s innocence or significantly reduce his sentence.

The case being as such, less than four months is not enough time for them to properly prepare to counter the arguments and charges of the state which carry the possibility of life imprisonment for their client.

In all Manning is facing 22 charges all related to the release of the mountain of classified and sensitive information that was passed to the site Wikileaks.

The brief history of the case is as follows: in May 2010 Bradley Edward Manning was arrested while on duty in Iraq, where he was working as an intelligence analyst, on charges of having passed classified information to the website WikiLeaks. After his arrest the state broadened the scope of his charges to include several more serious charges which included communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source and the most serious; aiding the enemy which is a capital offense. The state prosecutors have stated that they would not seek the death penalty in this case.

As an analyst for the army Manning had had access to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), a system of interconnected computer networks used by the United States Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of State to transmit classified information, up to and including information classified SECRET.

According to information in the public domain the system operates by using a system of packet switching over the TCP/IP protocols in what they call a 'completely secure' environment". SIPRNet is the U.S. Department of Defense's classified version of the civilian Internet and is the SECRET component of the Defense Information Systems Network.

In the latest defense motion, title “Motion to Compel Discovery” lead defense attorney David Edward Coombs makes several statements and accusations that may be surprising in their scope and in the level of negligence the government has shown in not permitting such a high-profile defendant to properly defend himself.

Many experts and human rights workers all over the world see this as only one in a long line of abuses in this case. The case has attracted international attention for many reasons and has reflected badly on the entire U.S. legal system.

Last summer the international community was up in arms over the treatment that was being given to Manning and the way he was being incarcerated, conditions that many say amounted to torture. Among other things he was subject to stress positions and to enduring long periods of time without sleep and nude. There were many who were afraid, including his defense lawyers, that he was being driven mad by the conditions under which he was being kept. At one point this included being asked every five minutes if he was okay.

All of the facts so far do not point to the possibility that Manning will be given the opportunity to receive a fair trial. He was the chosen scapegoat for what the US characterized as a historic intelligence failure, something conspiracy theorists say was an orchestrated release to tie up the intelligence agencies of the world with disinformation and to serve as the spark to ignite the color revolutions of the Arab spring. According to experts these two things were the only real tangible effects of the release of the information that was attributed to Manning.

The brunt of the defense motion has to do with what is called Brady material, named after the name of the case that brought the law regarding discovery into effect. In the motion Coombs said the U.S. government is not conducting the required Brady searches in a diligent and timely manner.

In point 26 he writes that the defense had just learned that on 29 July 2011, the Government sent out a memo to the Headquarters of the Department of the Army requesting it to task Principal Officials to search for, and preserve, any discoverable information. According to a Memorandum for Principal

Officials of Headquarters, Department of the Army, dated April 17, 2012 no action was taken for nine months in response to the Government's request for Brady and other potentially discoverable material. Thus the Defense requests action to taken in line with the April 17, 20l2 government request.

Mr. Coombs continued by saying that the Government has not yet completed a Brady search of its own files (i.e. files which are clearly in the possession, custody, and control of military authorities) even though two years have elapsed since PFC Manning was arrested. This fact does not does not inspire confidence that the Government has diligently conducted a Brady search of other agencies as it was supposed to have done.

ln fact, he says,there are huge questions and inconsistencies in the Government's statements regarding its search for Brady material. For instance the Defense received 12-pages of Brady material several weeks ago, detailing responses by various government agencies that the alleged leaks did little to no damage to those organizations. The Defense was troubled that it was only now receiving such Brody material.

Based on the nature of that Brady material, the Defense believes there is much more similar Brady material out there that the Government has not disclosed. The Defense asked the Government why it was only now receiving such material.

The answer is clear, it is not in the interests of the government to assist in the Manning’s defense, if he is found innocent and the huge house of cards that has been built up around him comes crashing down many officials at all levels will have to face the piper and while the foxes are guarding the chicken coop assisting someone they accuse is not something that can ever be expected, no matter how much lip service is paid to innocence before guilty.

The situation in Syria continues to grow worse and more contradictory by the day, unless one is to accept the premise that the West is and will continue to do everything that it can to bring about a regime change, the more violently and the quicker the better.

Several weeks ago there were reports in the world press that many of the Syrian armed opposition groups were being funded and armed by the West and were even being provided support by foreign mercenaries and even by AL-Qaeda terrorists.

These reports began to come in right on the eve of the Kofi Annan plan, which some experts are saying was all done for the simple reason of buying time for the US as they prepare the further groundwork for an invasion.

Under the watchful eye of UN Observers over the weekend the horrible and tragic massacre of over 100 civilians occurred in the Syrian village of Houla. According to UN Observers the civilians were in fact executed by non-government forces; however the term “Shabiha” has been used to describe the killers. Syrian Forces are reported to have killed several civilians in their shelling of the terrorist positions.

UN Observer reports have served to undo the Western narrative of the events which some are saying was to serve as the impetus for an invasion of the country, or another “humanitarian intervention” ala Libya, etc., by the West and amid reports of Western funding and backing for the terrorists groups perhaps it is way past time that people woke up and realized that the regime of Bashar Assad may not be as completely responsible for the unrest in the country as they have been made out to be.

Despite the UN and official reports that the responsible parties for the Houla Massacre were not connected to the Syrian Government, the West has still stepped up its sanctions and pressure on Syria, apparently following a script that has already been laid out and which the West will stick to no matter what.

Let’s look at the facts; the United Nations itself reports that “most of the 108 victims of the Houla Massacre last week were shot at close range, some of them women, children and entire families gunned down in their own homes,” guardian.co.uk reported quoting Associated Press. The UN has also stated that militants, not Syrian soldiers, were responsible for the massacre. The report cites “witness accounts” but goes on to claim the militants were “pro-government thugs known as Shabiha,” while the Syrian government has claimed the militants were foreign-backed armed terrorists.

If this is true and the “Shabiha” were not connected to the government (one might ask why the government forces were engaging them in battle if they were) this stands in stark contrast to the ongoing narrative of the US, the UK, France and other NATO members countries, a narrative they have now used to begin expelling Syrian diplomats from their countries.

Russia, it appears, it the only country in the world which has called for an objective and fair investigation before judgment is passed, but the West continues to pursue a path it has already decided to go down, and no matter what the facts are, continues it drive to charge convict and execute the Syrian Government.

The Syrian Government can not win if they are facing Western backed forces that will execute whole families and over a 100 civilians for the sake of maintaining an invasion friendly narrative. Something the West has proven time and time again to be doing in Syria.

For Bashar Assad and the Syrian Government it is time to take off the gloves and perhaps use the same tactics that are being used against it by the West, in this case I am talking about funding.

If, and I say “if” because I have also not seen undisputable evidence that this is true, but “if” Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups are being paid by the West to continue the bloodshed in Syria then perhaps there is one things they (the Syrian Governement) might do (this may sound strange but I got the idea when hearing the American Ambassador to Russia admitting that the US had tried to bribe the president of Kirghizstan) and that is upping the ante and turning the tables and paying the mercenary killer terrorist scum more than their “supposed” Western backers are. Again I give the West the benefit of the doubt as I do the Syrian Government.

If the West is this bent on pursuing their own narrative then there is nothing that the UN or the Syrian Government or anyone else will be able to do to bring about a peaceful settlement.

The contents of this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of the Voice of Russia or anyone else for that matter and are the author’s (my) own.

He fled the Russian Federation with billions of dollars that he amassed in criminal schemes after the collapse of the Soviet Union (Mainly involving Aeroflot but who is keeping track?) and claimed that he was being politically persecuted because the government was seeking to prosecute him for his crimes.

With his billions he fled to the UK where he was quickly given asylum and a new identity and quickly began working with MI-5 and 6 against the interests of the Russian Federation. He told them what they wanted to hear saying anything to malign Russia and to paint himself as a poor victim of the system. He also paid millions of dollars to political parties and politicians and to anyone else who could help him and who was willing to take his money to look the other way.

Even though he has a record of funding Chechen terrorists and direct involvement in other criminal enterprises including in the killing of police the UK continues to give him asylum, and they continue to protect him for the sole reason that he helps them to keep their anti-Russian rhetoric and policies alive and well.

In case you haven’t noticed every time it seems that there is a concerted effort by the intelligence services of the West to attack or to attempt to change the political or economic landscape of the Russian Federation, somewhere in the mix Berezovsky’s name inadvertently pops up.

When the Litvienko affair caused Russian-British relationship to almost return to cold war levels, whose name kept coming up again and again? Gordievsky? Yes. Berezovsky? Yes.

When efforts by the West were stepped up right before the latest presidential elections to try to throw the country into a state of upheaval whose name came up and who threw his two cents into the mix? You got it, Berezovsky.

The West has many of their agents in Moscow and their efforts are becoming more open, concerted, active and energetic but the agents they have, have so far proven to be ineffective and the Russian people are much too intelligent to fall for the lies and the provocations that the West keeps putting forward. Whose name keeps popping up? Berezovsky.

One of the most official bodies of state power, the Russian Investigative Committee, does not do things lightly and takes its responsibilities very seriously. They do not open cases where there is not enough evidence to convict and they have opened two more criminal cases against Boris Berezovsky, this time for publicly instigating mass-scale unrest, or in other words “sedition”.

According to the spokesperson for the Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, in April Berezovsky posted statements on the Internet calling for massive violent riots and for preventing the inauguration of the legally elected Russian President. Not only were there calls for violence but Berezovsky even promised to pay huge sums for evil deeds against the state.

And here we have that word again, “sedition”, for that is exactly what Berezovsky is guilty of. If anyone were attempting to do such things to the US Government, i.e. attempting to overthrow it, the instigators would be targeted by Obama’s hit teams and liquidated, let there be no doubt.

Yet here in Russia, for some reason the government is supposed to tolerate such things; to show that they are “democratic” and allow dissent. Why doesn’t Russia do the same as the American government and sanction extra-judicial executions?

Russia could also come up with a hit list and the president could also play God like Obama does and decide who lives and who dies. One of the people on the first list could be Berezovsky. Why not? If Obama can do it why can’t Putin or any other president for that matter?

Boris Berezovsky’s candidacy to be on such a list would be backed by almost anyone who loves Russia even the slightest bit. Not just for his calls for the Russian opposition to wreck the presidential vote, but also for attempting to interfere in the country’s internal affairs.

Even Russia’s real opposition leaders such as Sergey Mironov are tired of Berezovsky. Mironov recently said: “Let Mr. Berezovsky mind his own business and not pry into Russia’s internal affairs, he is Russia’s enemy.”

Berezovsky has even alienated Orthodox Christians with his purported attempt to form a party with the word Christian in the name.

“I think Boris Berezovsky must first prove his devotion to Christian values and donate the capital that he has to the Russian Pension Fund or to charity foundations.” Yabloko leader Sergey Mitrokhinwas quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

According to RT a Russian Orthodox Church cleric said Berezovsky should create a “Party of the Antichrist” and mentioned the Vsevolod Chaplin of the Church and Society Relations Department of the Holy Synod as saying Berezovsky’s reasoning sounded like parts from the Gospel that described the antichrist.

Whatever the case may be, and whoever Berezovsky really is, be he Mi-5 tool, Chechen terrorist financier, mafia-boss in hiding or the anti-Christ, few would argue, it is time for the UK to wake up stop harboring the fugitive. Or is it time for Russia to also start drawing up lists?

The title of a piece by the New York Times’ Jo Becker and Scott Shane, “Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will”, sums up for me the whole problem of Barrack Obama. Not that Barrack Obama is a problem or a bad president or that there is anything wrong with him as a person, but that he is someone that no one, so far, can really criticize. Which one might say was the beauty of putting a black man named Obama in the Oval Office; if anyone comes down too hard on him they will be branded racist or irrational for having a problem with someone named Hussein.

Perhaps I am wrong but Obama has been one of the least criticized presidents, if not “the” least criticized, that modern history has seen.

Obama is a man who is always operating on two or more conflicting fronts and is impossible to actually believe, for me anyway. The only thing we can say for sure is that he continues the policies of his predecessor and does a wonderful job of maintaining the status quo for what we can call the 1%.

This fact can be underlined by his Nobel “Peace” Prize, received and kept despite the fact he was waging two wars and, now it is revealed, openly involved in extra-judicial executions.

The first problem with the title of the piece is the naming of the list “Secret”. If it were truly secret we would never have heard about it. Which means the Oval Office has decided to make public the fact of the existence of the list, a fact which in and of itself and brings to mind even more questions, the top two being why and why now?

When there are huge “secrets” revealed in the press and for the world to ponder, such as this one, and in recent memory, such as the mountain of Wikileaks material that in fact did not contain any real secrets in my humble opinion, one has to always wonder why?

The answer to these two questions I think is quite obvious in this case. First of all the answer to the first question “why” is a complicated one but involves the psyche of the American electorate and the fact that for most Americans having a president who can play God and be judge-jury- and- executioner, or in other words a hardcore-cold-blooded-killer, is for want of a better word; “cool”.

I don’t hate Americans, I was once one, and sans uproar and cries for his removal upon knowing about this list, the American public has proven this point themselves. I am well aware that perhaps 99% of you do not agree that this is cool so no hate mail please.

The answer to the second question as to the timing of the release is more simple: Obama is up for re-election, a fact that has even affected his relations with Russia, and sadly for the state of humanity as a whole, the fact that he decides regularly on who the victims of extra-judicial executions are, will help him to get votes.

To say that the “Kill List” tests Obama’s principles is disingenuous as he could, as the most powerful man in the world, refuse to take part in such an exercise: or can he? And to say it tests his will is even worse, as if there is some insatiable force making him decide on killing people: or is there? More questions…

I have nothing against Obama personally or the fact that he is not white, neither am I, in fact I am darker than Obama, so don’t attack me there, but morally any leader who attempts to step outside of the laws and norms of the law and wield such power, namely the “decider” on extra-judicial executions, deserves to face justice.

For most of the civilized world, executions, even judicial ones, are illegal, but for the United States they are just one of the “tools” available to the president in his “War on Terror”, a euphemism for the killing of poor Islamists on the other side of the world who hate America.

Those who allow extra-judicial executions should also be tried but of course, as we learned with George Bush, justice never comes for American presidents, or his enablers. Unless they are involved in some minor private tryst, as we learned with William Clinton.

According to the New York Times when US President Obama decided on the killing of an American cleric in Yemen, Mr. Obama told colleagues that the decision was “an easy one”. I think that clears up any questions remaining about his “principles” in this regard.

I have been covering the Occupy Movement since the very beginning with my first interviewee being Bill Csapo from Occupy Wall Street. Since then I have spoken and interviewed “Occupiers” from every major Occupation. So what has changed and where are these movements today?

At the beginning one of my first questions was always: what are your demands? And most of the people could not give a concrete answer. It did not inspire confidence and I thought they would disappear in a week. I asked them about their organizations, and no one seemed to know anything, not even that one of the key organizations that had started the whole thing off was in Canada.

Looking back now this is probably what has saved them from being completely shut down, the almost complete lack of organization and centralization that is, as well as the fact that the movement has no clear leader(s).

Almost a year into this they now have some level of organization and a sort of “Mission Statement” but they still remain loosely organized flexible, and multi-focused, covering and focusing on a multitude of social issues.

According to Occupy Together dot org the Occupy Movement is: “….an international, people-driven movement of individuals with many different backgrounds and political beliefs.” One unifying statement on the site reads: “…we no longer trust our elected officials to represent anyone other than their wealthiest donors…. occupy empowers real people to create real change from the bottom up”, makes sense.

How big is the movement? Well the occupiers and organizers I have talked to all speak of a global movement, according to the site they are organized in over 100 cities in the United States.”

In the clearest “vocalization” of their goal, if you can call text on a web site that, which I have seen to date, the organizers state: “…the movement aims to fight back against the system that has allowed the richest 1% to write the rules governing an unbalanced and inequitable global economy…”

So what is the Occupy Movement up to? Well, it was daunting task from my little computer over here in my bunker in Moscow, to try to pin down all of these movements and find out what they are doing, that is until I found Occupy dot com. Yes these guys have a dot com.

In the little space I have left here I will attempt to give you a quick rundown on what they are all doing, well the main events as they have appeared in the press and on the net.

Clearly the NATO Summit protests in Chicago and the arrests on terrorism charges of protestors entrapped by Chicago Police informants (For shame for shame!) has to be at the top of the list of recent Occupy events. Numbers are conflicting but judging by photographs, I would say tens of thousands took part in the Chicago protests.

The organization Inter-Occupy has called the Chicago demonstration “over-policed and extremely violent.” And the US, National Lawyers Guild estimates that 117 people were arrested.

One of the highlights of the Chicago events was when dozens of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, threw away their NATO medals.

Occupy dot com gives us the following information on the most active “Occupations”:

Quebec’s student protest, now in its 15th week, is being described as “the biggest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.” Demonstrations consistently attract 300,000 to 400,000 people. Focus on a 75% increase in the cost of tuition.

Greece’s Left Coalition (not officially an “Occupation”) was in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands who protested against NATO. “Fighting against NATO is also a fight in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the Arab world who revolt against their dictators,” they wrote.

On May 24th thousands of students protested in Mexico City, for the second time, the way the upcoming presidential election is being run and covered in the media.

Occupy Wall Street is suing the City of New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty over the destruction of the People’s Library during a violent raid. The librarians have estimated that missing and destroyed items were worth approximately $47,000.00 this includes computers and

On May 25, police from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office abandoned an attempt to evict protestors from a foreclosed home in south Minneapolis, but arrested 5 protestors the next morning. The protesters have been occupying houses to prevent foreclosures since the fall.

Activists are protesting the city’s decision to ban protesters from carrying items such as shields which are often used by protesters as protection from police.

A court has granted Occupy London one week to build a defense against their eviction from a park in Islington Borough.

A dozen Occupiers were arrested in Portland as they chanted and sang outside a post office to demand a full-service facility and the resignation of the current Postmaster General.

Occupy is hitting the road on June 11th and heading out from locations in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, traveling three routes across America to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a five-day “Occupy National Gathering” culminating in Washington D.C. on July 4th.

Currently, according to Occupy figures 7,240 detentions of peaceful activists have been recorded since the birth of the Occupy Movement.

There is no valid Occupy Movement here as the “Occupy” idea was hijacked by dissatisfied elites whose only target was the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. For some of the elites it became “fashionable” to protest Mr. Putin, although no one has any real demand or alternative vision.

The 1% in the guise of the 99%, these were NOT grass-roots popular demonstrations by the little guys and the people for social justice!

Disclaimer: I wrote this, I am responsible, and as we used to say; I’ll take the shot.

The Russian Federation continues to call for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Syria, as Russia has done from the very beginning; however forces in the country are doing everything that they can to derail any chance of peace. In particular what is now being referred to as the irreconcilable opposition and its military wing the Free Syria Army.

The situation in Syria is approaching what can only be described as an all out armed civil war.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday a bus carrying Russian experts was fired upon and this came on the heels of a rocket-propelled grenade attack on a building that was housing Russian nationals. The foreign minister was speaking about the violations of the ceasefire by the side of the Syrian militants according to the Russian press.

Russia’s foreign minister once again stressed the fact that not only Syrian President Bashar Assad can be held responsible for the situation in the country. He added that the tragedies in Hula and Al-Kubeyre were made possible thanks to the continued support of armed opposition groups from abroad."

Moscow for its part continues to call for not abandoning the UN-backed settlement plan organized by UN and Arab League Envoy Kofi Annan and is calling for an international conference to be held to finally bring an end to the Syrian conflict.

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke about the necessity of holding the conference and was supported by British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

In another development that may be cause for cautious optimism the head of the Syrian Opposition National Council (SNC) Abdel Basset Saida said that his organization would approve of the military intervention of international forces in the internal conflict only if they have the sanction of the UN Security Council.

Saida also said he was ready to adhere to the settlement plan proposed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and urged the international community to "act" against President Bashar al-Assad and make sure that the agreement is executed.

While the international community and now even the Syrian opposition itself appears to possibly ready for peace the United States continues to call for more arms and violence and according to Interfax Saudi Arabia and other countries keep supplying arms to the Syrian opposition in defiance of the appeals of the world community.

As if to underline this fact US Senator, John McCain, once again confirmed these accusations in an interview with the CNN television network. Instead of calling for an end to the bloodshed the Conservative Republican has urged the US Administration to embark on a path of direct military aid to the Syrian rebels.

Russia continues to hold to the position that foreign military intervention in Syria is unacceptable. Even with an escalation in the violence and the two recent massacres, the latest being in the Village of Al-Kubeir, a tragedy that even the UN observers do not yet have all the details about, including the exact number of victims. Experts believe that this was provocation to derail any chnce of peace and that the opposition Syrian National Council will hold official Damascus responsible, the West and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have also voiced accusations in this vein.

Officially Russia’s Foreign Ministry has called that massacre a provocation aimed at wrecking Kofi Annan’s plan for Syria settlement. In an interview

An analyst from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Sotnikov, has a similar opinion voice to the Voice of Russia. He stated that; "The government forces are not responsible for the Hama massacre. What occurred was an attempt of opposition elements, which have contacts with the Islamist groups and Al Qaeda, to aggravate the situation in the country. Such massacres prepare the ground for a foreign intervention in Syria that could prove helpful in ousting the regime of Bashar Assad."

After the events recently near Hama Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "The parties involved in the Syrian conflict, including foreign opposition and the Syrian National Council do not want to sit down at the negotiating table with Bashar Assad. They are ready to continue the armed struggle until the UN Security Council gives a mandate for a foreign intervention in Syria. I guarantee that it won’t give such a mandate."

The coordinator of the Syrian humanitarian project “The Price of Freedom” Ibrahim Naovaf said in an interview with the Voice of Russia that: “More than 80 per cent of the Syrian citizens support the President. Why? The people take into account continued terrorist attacks and terrorists who are building the so-called democracy on their blood. People defend themselves because neither soldiers nor security forces can assume responsibility for the country. Terrorists organize sudden attacks. They can mine a car and escape, and civilians may die in the explosion."

So if the Syrian people want peace, and quite possibly, if one is to give credibility to statements made by the head of the Syrian Opposition National Council (SNC) Abdel Basset Saida, the Syrian opposition want peace and the Syrian Government wants a peaceful resolution as well; why does the West continue to beat the drums of war?

With the lives of peaceful women and children at stake and thousands already dead, it is time for the West to stop playing Geo-Political games of military domination and once again search for that which it has long ago lost sight of, namely the moral high-ground, on which the Russian Federation is firmly standing. For the sake of all it is time for peace, before it is too late.

The Russian Federation is the largest country on the face of the Earth; a country with a long, rich and great history full of upheavals, wars, tragedies and great victories.

Russia is a country that unites Asia and Europe and has a total area of 17,075,400 square kilometers (6,592,800 sq mi), covering more than a ninth of the Earth’s land area. The Russian Federation extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe and is a country that spans nine time zones with times ranging from UTC+03:00 to UTC+12:00.

On the 12th of June Russia celebrates Russia Day. The holiday is still a new one for Russia, and has only been celebrated since 1992. June 12th 1990 was the day when the First Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the country’s new name was the Russian Federation, adopted on December 25, 1991. Among other changes after the collapse of the USSR was the introduction of the post of president, a new national flag, a new national emblem and a new anthem.

June 12th the day when the declaration was adopted was proclaimed a national holiday by the Supreme Soviet in 1992 and again proclaimed a national holiday Presidential decree of June 2, 1994. Under the presidential decree of June 16, 1998, it was renamed Russia Day, from the previous name of Independence Day, a name which did not really reflect the nature of the holiday.

For many June 12th was a day when, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, they were thrown into poverty, when all of the social guarantees of the Soviet State were taken away and when the greatest country on the planet, the USSR was officially dissolved, for this reason at the beginning many Russians did not celebrate the holiday. Holiday many did not even understand.

In the last few years many people have begun to celebrate the holiday as a day to demonstrate national pride in their great country. It is a day when the president gives state awards for achievements in science and technology, literature and art, and humanitarian activities. It is also a day when people can watch firework displays, concerts and entertainment events.

This year President Vladimir Putin presented awards in the St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace and according to the press office of the president the recipients were many and the awards were as follows:

In the scientific spheres: for the discovery of large deposits of platinum-palladium on the Kola Peninsula Felix Mitrofanov received the State Prize in Science and Technology, for achievements in Immunology Rem Petrov and Khaitov Rahim received an award, an award was given to Boris Trofimov for a major contribution to the development of organic synthesis along with Valery Charushin and Oleg Chupakhin, for the development and creation of a missile warning Sergey Boev, Sergei Saprykin and Valery Karasev.

The Russian Federation State Prize in Literature and the Arts was awarded to Oleg Dobrodeyev, Sergey Shumakov, and Svyatoslav Belza for the popularization of culture and science achievement and outstanding educational activities; Oleg Zharov, Elena Ankudinov, Nikolai Mukhin for their contribution to the revival and development of traditional cultural and historical values, and Galina Malanicheva for her contribution to the preservation of the national cultural heritage.

A State Award for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian work was awarded to Vladimir Spivakov.

According to the Voice of Russia festival activities include some 1,550 events, with 20 being held in Moscow, culminating in a five hour concert on Red Square in the evening and ending with a spectacular fireworks exhibition. One of Moscow’s parks has also been used as a venue for a festival of the indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation with participants including traditional folk and dance ensembles and craftsmen.

This year another event that the country’s football fans are focused on is the match between Dick Advocaat’s national team and Poland, with a win guaranteeing Russia moving on to the quarterfinals after tromping the Czech Republic 4-1.

After the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the country has remarkably pulled itself up by its own bootstraps, an upheaval that would have led many countries to fall into anarchy and something that must be applauded and something that points to the resilience and strength of the Russian people.

In this regard alone I believe we must be grateful to President Putin and the pivotal role he has played in doing everything he can to return the country to greatness in the face of truly Machiavellian machinations. He has also made an increase in the living standards and the quality of life possible for all Russians.

Russia is a great country and on Mother Russia’s day we can celebrate her sportsmen and women, like Maria Sharapova (my favorite), her great scientists, her great victories; such as that over nazi Germany, her wonderful food and culture, her music and musicians, her great and beautiful lands, from the Urals to her spectacular Pacific coasts, the great and long religious history, people who are open and seek peace with others and for many the most beautiful women on earth.

Personally Russia Day has taken a deeper meaning for me as I celebrate the history and greatness of a country that took me and my family in 15 years ago. As a Taino Indian who was born on a small island in the Caribbean I am proud and honored to be a able to write to all of you on this great day here on the Voice of Russia and for me it would be an honor to be called Russian.

The situation in Syria continues to worsen as tensions mount between Moscow and Washington and the UN has suspended their observer mission in the country.

The latest development in Syria, the suspension of the UN Mission, comes on the heels of intensified efforts by Moscow and the international community to come to a peaceful resolution to the crisis with Moscow’s recent calls for an international conference on Syria.

According to statements made to the press by the head of the UN Mission, Norwegian Major General Robert Mood, regarding the intensified violence over the last ten days, there is an increased risk to UN observers and as he put it, “…a lack of willingness by the parties to seek a peaceful solution.” Therefore the decision has been made to suspend the UN Observer Mission.

Mood did add that the suspension would be reviewed on a daily basis and that operations would resume when they see the situation fit f to carry out their mandated activities.

Mood repeated that the violence posed "significant risks" to the unarmed members of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), who number 300 but that for now they will not be leaving the country but will stay in their compounds and have halted all patrols.

According to press reports Syria's Foreign Ministry released a statement that it had been told of the decision to suspend the mission on Friday evening and had told Mood that it understood his concerns and blamed the attacks on the rebels who are fighting government forces.

A statement by the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that since the start of the April 12th ceasefire deal "armed terrorist groups" have escalated their "criminal activities, which have often targeted the UN observers."

Moscow continues to call for an international conference on Syria which will involve all of the players in the region. In a telephone conversation on Saturday with UN and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, made on Annan’s initiative, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that this kind of forum could help end the bloodshed and kick-start the peace settlement process in Syria. According to TASS during the conversation the UN and Arab League envoy supported the adoption of an international approach to the settlement of the Syrian crisis.

Speaking of an international conference on Syria to be held in Geneva on June 30th Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Russia will participate if its requirements regarding the goal of the conference and countries invited are met.

These requirements include all countries participating in the conference committing their resources to the facilitation of an all-inclusive political process in Syria and that all countries in the region who can influence the situation should attend, including Iran, which the U.S. has spoken against.

Meanwhile tension continue to escalate between the US and Russia with Secretary of State Clinton continuing to issue provocative statements against the Russian Federation. According to Rick Rozoff, at Stop NATO, on June 12th Clinton appeared with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the Brookings Institution and stated; “We have confronted the Russians about stopping their continued arms shipments to Syria.” Russia had had contracts going back years before the conflict for the supply of defensive technology (only) to Syria.

She also added “And we are concerned about the latest information we have that there are attack helicopters on the way from Russia to Syria, which will escalate the conflict quite dramatically,” statements which began the entire helicopter scandal and redactions by the US.

Experts say that charges of attack helicopter supplies to Syria are a precursor to implementing, what NATO has used in almost every campaign in the last 10 years, a no-fly zone as they did in Libya to get rid of Gaddafi.

Russian officials said the charges were a crude fabrication and cruder provocation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stating: "We are not delivering to Syria, or anywhere else, items that could be used against peaceful demonstrators. In this we differ from the United States, which regularly delivers riot control equipment to the region, including a recent delivery to a Persian Gulf country. But for some reason the Americans consider this to be par for the course."

Rozoff also said that, “Clinton has been steadily raising the level of anti-Russian invective, vilification and intimidation in recent months.”

The VOR Andrey Iyashenko reported that a “Pentagon official who wished to remain anonymous reported that Clinton has "exaggerated a little bit" the real state of affairs concerning military-technical cooperation between Moscow and Damascus in order "to put the Russians in a difficult situation".

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council are expected to hold talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in beginning on Monday in Mexico.

Russia will continue to seek a peaceful resolution as it has from the very beginning of the conflict in Syria and apparently the US will continue to use the situation in Syria to increase tensions with the Russian Federation. One has to ask oneself; why?

What exactly is NATO doing in Kosovo? Who or what are they protecting and what are they stationed there for? When we look at what they have been doing since June of 1999, in reality it does not look good.

We must not forget that NATO is a military organization and military organizations are designed for one thing, the legalized killing of the opponents of a state. No matter how noble NATO tries to paint itself it is an organization that should have been disbanded at the end of the cold war and it has in itself become one of the most destabilizing factors and causes of death and destruction in modern times.

We must also not forget that NATO operates as a proxy for the US in promoting US interests in areas of the world where the US can not rightfully interfere, although this in reality does little to stop them.

Putting aside for the moment the destruction of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and other countries obliterated by Western “intervention” let’s take a look for a moment at Kosovo.

What exactly is the US, I mean NATO, I mean KFOR, doing in Kosovo? What is their objective in the country? Who or what are they protecting and what are they stationed there for?

When we look at what they have been doing since June of 1999, in reality it does not look good.

Wanting to be fair and impartial when gathering material for this piece one of the first places I went to was their own site. Not surprisingly it is filled with the usual western catch phrases and pseudo reasoning that many in the West gobble up to justify the killing and destruction they wreak on the world. Words and phrases like multi-ethnic force, assistance to civil authorities, civil protection, and my favorite sentence, “KFOR is cooperating with and assisting the UN, the EU and other international actors, as appropriate, to support the development of a stable, democratic, multi-ethnic and peaceful Kosovo.” Sounds good, but it is poppycock.

First of all who are these “other international actors”? The drug dealers and traffickers in human organs? The Mafia killers? The US imperial paymasters? The US sponsored war criminals? As for a stable blah-blah multi-ethnic Kosovo, well, obviously that means one free of Serbs, and this my dear reader is what it is all about.

Let’s go back in time a bit to February 2008, this was the month when after protestors attacked the US Embassy in Belgrade, the former Bush Administration finally admitted after; starting two wars of aggression and the subsequent occupations of sovereign nations, the extensive use of torture, extraordinary renditions, the illegal prison at Guantanamo and extensive black sites worldwide, there was such a thing as international law.

The destruction, dismantling and dividing up of Yugoslavia into ethnically pure sections was the crowning achievement of Hillary’s husband, former president Bill Clinton, so the finally seal on the destruction of the former Yugoslavia, namely the “independence” of Kosovo, was something she wholeheartedly embraced. Like Hillary’s famous quote on the occasion of the death of Muammar Gaddafi, “…we came, we saw, he died” her statement on the occasion of Kosovo’s separation from Serbia also showed monumental callousness and complete disregard for human life and dignity.

Pretending to be so wise as to the local language, as her state department did with the “Overload” button disgrace, she used the Albanian word for Kosovo, “Kosova”, she referred to Kosovo by the Albanian "Kosova" and stated; "…it will allow the people of Kosova to finally live in their own democratic state. It will allow Kosova and Serbia to finally put a difficult chapter in their history behind them and to move forward." The only problem, it was ripping the heart out of the Serbian people.

According to Nebojsa Malic at Global Research.ca there can be no doubt that the March 1999 attack on Yugoslavia was illegal, in an article the following articles, treaties and citations were listed.

Article 2, section 4 of the UN Charter clearly says: "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state…”

Article 53 (Chapter VIII ) of the UN Charter clearly says that: "…no enforcement action shall be taken under regional arrangements or by regional agencies without the authorization of the Security Council".

From NATO's own charter, the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949, Article 1:"The Parties undertake… to settle any international dispute… by peaceful means…”

Article 7: "This Treaty… shall not be interpreted as affecting… the rights and obligations under the Charter of the Parties which are members of the United Nations, or the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security."

Other laws and treaties: the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 for violating the territorial integrity of a signatory state.

The 1980 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties for using coercion to compel a state to sign a treaty i.e., the Rambouillet ultimatum.

Finally Yugoslavia did not attack any NATO member nor was it a security threat to any country in the region. What NATO did on March 24, 1999 was a war of aggression and a crime against humanity.

So if the invasion was illegal, then obviously the ensuing occupation was as well and everything KFOR/NATO/US is doing there is also illegal.

So what does KFOR do in Kosovo? With an almost total and complete media blackout, and I have seen this with my own eyes, there is little news we receive from the area. However the reports we get are of the constant and methodical limitation to the freedom of movement and supplies to the Serbian population, in particular in Northern Kosovo, and reports of the continued practice of limiting Serbs to certain areas or ghettos making them refugees in their own country. This serves to ethnically cleanse and divide the country along ethnic and racial lines, like most American cities, a comparison that I can not help but make.

KFOR also protects, enables and provides support for the belligerent side they have chosen to support in this conflict. What are the reasons, they are many but one of the main ones is money, huge money, which has been filling KFOR coffers for years on end and according to countless media reports going back for years, from countless illicit sources. (That is a topic for a later discussion.)

On Friday there was another incident of KFOR opening fire, this time with rubber bullets, on peaceful Serbs as they blocked an important road and attempted to make Serbs accept Kosovo license plates for their cars, an obvious transparent attempt to make them recognize Kosovo as an independent entity.

A press release from the Raška-Prizren Eparchy stated that they are concerned about KFOR’s latest actions in northern Kosovo and stated “attempts to force the Serbs in the north to accept Kosovo license plates by using combat vehicles and blocking roads that are the main channel for supplies and medicines, are creating a serious humanitarian crisis that could have immense consequences”.

The Eparchy also strongly urged all sides to work constructively to find solutions that contribute to survival of the Serbian people in the entire territory of Kosovo and Metohija.

For the Serbian people, they are fighting for their very existence, for KFOR and the “West”, Kosovo is just another pawn in a filthy game of geopolitical influence and power. As soon as it is used up, or no longer needed, they will throw it away as well.

Hello dear reader, hope you are well. Once again the (in)famous Julian Assange is making headlines and grabbing the attention of the world’s media. Not that I have a problem with this, the only thing is that the circus atmosphere and the constant media attention seems to be taking the focus away from what should be the real story with Julian. But that is the way it seems to be with him, things just don’t add up when it comes to Julian and for me that has been a fact since day one.

If you are a fan of Julian and Wikileaks and believe everything they claim about exposing secrets to bring about accountability and that government secrecy must be stopped etc. read no further.

From its inception the whole thing seemed quite strange, bizarre really. First the name “Wikileaks”, it seemed like an obvious attempt to profit off of and by proxy grant credibility by association by using a name so similar to that other famous and globally trusted “Wiki”, a source of information almost all of us uses from time to time.

For from its outset that is exactly what “Wikileaks” lacked for me, credibility. But as I am one who attempts to always be fair and keep an open mind I tried to believe. Unfortunately the attempt did not work. For starters it seems too glib, too slick, too snake oily. Here was a site asking, openly, without a wink of the eye or an obfuscation of the language for anyone, anywhere to send it the secrets of their governments and just to be even more interesting, of their corporations. And of course, anonymity was guaranteed.

There were already sites out there that were dedicated in one way or another to exposing government malfeasance, war crimes, corruption and so on and so forth, run by people living on the fringes and in fear, getting shut down, blocked, being harassed and some site owners disappearing, having strange accidents, heart failure, being suicided, being stripped of their citizenship or outright killed. Sites like this still exist but their number has dropped considerably. Yes, there were many, all trying quietly to fight for the truth and for the most part existing on meager budgets and with no funding.

During the dark ages of the Bush era and after 9-11 there were thousands which sprang up, all being dealt with one after the other. Just ask any 9-11 Truther about the tactics used by the US Government to shut down, get rid of, and in the end shut up anyone who tried to expose the lies surrounding 9-11 and the subsequent wars of aggression, Guantanamo, and torture incorporated. Behind every one of those sites there was a person, afraid but ready to fight for the truth. And then out of nowhere, BAM!!! Here comes Wikileaks, spouting off and trying to present itself as the be all, end all wholesale clearing house of secret internet information, a MegaMart of truth and secret documents. That’s right, anyone anywhere send us your proof of crimes by your government, anonymity guaranteed, they claimed.

To me and many who had contact with Assange back in the Cypherpunk days, it seemed odd. Who Assange, a hacker with an interest in cryptography, or worse, the front man for a government front seeking to put an end to as many whistleblowers as possible, once and for all? Ask Manning. Even more probable he is simply a snake oil salesman looking to make a quick buck.

This latter version is backed up by documents on the internet, in particular on the site cryptome.org, run by an often harassed and shut down John Young, which has a collection of documents from Wikileaks insiders and Assange himself. In one of the documents an anonymous source going by the code name “Wikileaks Insider” details how Assange bragged about how Wikileaks had ”…no headquarters, no office, no formal structure other than the name and the truth-seeking ideology attached to it.” Yet at the time Assange was seeking $600,000.00, yes dear reader, over half a million, for the overall budget of Wikileaks and $200,000.00 just to, as Insider put it, “keep the lights on”.

In a pledge drive mailing, dated January 7, 2007, the Wikileaks Advisory Board stated, and I quote: “We can succeed at a slower / scale limited way with under $50,000 / year & volunteers, but it is our goal to raise pledges of $5m by July.” That is a lot of money, $5 million in 6 months!

According to “Wikileaks Insider” Assange was prepared to throw Manning to the dogs to cover his own posterior as he and Manning had been planning to sell the Iraq and Afghanistan information to news and media corporations.

Another problem with Wikileaks was their guarantee of anonymity, anyone who knows a little about the internet knows that when you sit down in front of your computer, and even worse go online, there is no guarantee that you are not being watched or monitored. Again according to “Insider”: “Wikileaks is a very serious accident just waiting to happen,they convince the whistle blower that their anonymity is protected, and their data is secured. Nothing could be further from the truth.” Again ask Manning.

If we look at the information released by Wikileaks from an intelligence standpoint and do a damage control assessment using the material that is already out there, then what we see is a lot of smoke and almost no fire.

Even with all of the noise and media attention that the Iraq and Afghanistan files have raised, from an intelligence viewpoint, they exposed no real “secrets” which caused damage to the United States. Sure so and so thought the Ambassador of country “A” was a lout, but is that a state secret? The most damage was done to informants and Afghanis but I suppose they were all expendable to the U.S. and maybe even liabilities to begin with.

All of this talk about damage is irrelevant anyway, when it comes to Wikileaks, because Assange, being the “upstanding citizen” he is, apparently cleared everything with Pentagon vetters before he released anything, which made anything he released useless.

Despite this the media and world intelligence services were ties up for months sifting through everything trying to gain some piece of useful intelligence or secret. All of this pointing, once again, to some tie between Assange and the U.S. and begs the question, “Is Assange and Wikileaks a huge disinformation operation by U.S. intelligence?”

Other facts and inconsistencies in the whole affair also point to a “special” relationship between Assange and the U.S. If we compare the Victor Bout case and Assange’s many more questions arise. First and foremost for me is; if Assange is really wanted by the U.S. and really caused so much damage, why has it been so difficult for them to get him?

Victor Bout was in a third country and was wanted on circumstantial and very weak evidence and his extradition was opposed by the largest country in the world, yet they still illegally, for want of a better word “kidnapped” him and took him to the U.S. Assange is on the territory of the U.S.’ staunchest ally, walking around giving press conferences and we are supposed to believe the U.S. could not get him. The last country anyone with such issues with the U.S. would want to be is in the U.K., but here is Assange, giving press conferences when he should have been in hiding running for his life as he was apparently being hunted by U.S. intelligence services.

Therefore we can conclude that he is connected with U.S. intelligence, why not? Who else would profit from gaining the secrets of the world’s governments. Too bad we can not ask Manning.

On the other hand, if he is not a U.S. agent, asset, or in some other way operating for them, then he is a snake oil salesman who failed miserably in an attempt to sell information to the world’s media. Nobody bought it.

In the middle of all this we are also believe that Assange was set up by someone on rape charges to extradite him to the U.S. from Sweden. Why are we supposed to believe that it would be easier to get him in Sweden? If they had wanted him the best place to get him was the U.K., I am sorry, I don’t buy it.

Now Assange has asked for asylum, but from what country? China? The Russian Federation? Cuba? North Korea? No, these countries with political stances and positions often opposed by the U.S. were not on Assange’s list. Why? Perhaps because they know it is all a crock. So he went to the Ecuadorian Embassy and asked for asylum. Perhaps the intelligence services of Ecuador will believe it all.

It was President Putin’s first big international event since being reelected to the post of President of the Russian Federation and the results were positive, productive and constructive.

In a statement following the summit the Russian president answered questions from the press stating that overall he thought that the G-20 leaders came a step closer to mutual understanding, adding that they had worked together smoothly, constructively, fruitfully, and reached compromises.

This was reflected in the bilateral talks on the sidelines and in the G-20 working sessions, said President Putin. The Russian leader also stated that substantial discussion were held on reviving and stimulating economic growth, focusing particularly on the problems of global imbalances and how to reduce developed countries’ debt levels.

President Putin also said that one of the main results of the summit was the decision to increase the International Monetary Fund’s resource base by $430 billion.

There were many issues discussed both in the working sessions and on the sidelines, with the G-20 Leaders Declaration containing 85 points and being over 40 pages long.

“The working session also examined food security issues. Limited resources, climate change, and volatile raw materials prices are among the negative factors in this area. It is possible to stabilize the situation, including by concentrating efforts on resolving agriculture sector priorities.”

“The issues discussed in Los Cabos will remain on the agenda and develop further during Russia’s upcoming presidency of the G-20. We will ensure the group’s continuity and focus on discussing the problems that the G-20 was established to address.”

“We think that no one has the right to decide for other peoples who should come to power and who should be removed from power. Yes, we know that part of Syria’s people, those represented by the armed opposition, want to see President Assad leave. Firstly, they do not represent the entire Syrian people. Secondly, the most important thing is not simply changing the regime itself, but ensuring that if it does change – and this should be achieved through constitutional means only, the bloodshed will then stop and peace will return to the country.”

“I think the missile defense issue will not be resolved regardless of whether Obama wins the election or not. The United States has been working on its own missile defense system for many years now, and I do not see anything for now that could change the situation. I think that real change in the situation would be possible only if the United States agreed to our proposal that Russia, the USA, and Europe all be equal participants in this process…”

"The Jackson-Vanik amendment negatively affects Russian-US trade and economic relations. What more can I say? Our bilateral trade with the USA comes to $32 billion. This is nothing really, zero."

"As for the law connected to the Magnitsky tragedy, well, if they pass it they pass it. We do not think that this case requires such attention from Congress, but if restrictions are imposed on particular Russian citizens’ right to enter the USA, we will respond with similar restrictions on 'however many' American citizens’ rights to enter the Russian Federation. I do not know who needs all this and why, but if this goes ahead, so be it. This is not our choice."

“I think that more attention could be paid to the key issues the G-20 was established to address. I mentioned this at the start. In other words, the G-20 should focus more on the architecture of international financial relations and the global economy.”

The body language and the seriousness of the demeanor of the presidents was the subject of a lot of the commentary in the American press and media. However both leaders said the atmosphere was businesslike and productive.

According to MSNBC the encounter between the President Putin and the US leader was chilly and cold, like a cold Moscow winter.

In a piece for the AFP, Stephen Collinson characterized the meeting as; “Obama embarking on what may be a treacherous presidential relationship”, a bold and completely negative interpretation. The same writer went on to call President Putin “the former KGB man”, as if this is something bad. Could we say the same thing about Bush Senior being the “former CIA man” as if this is something discrediting. President Putin served his country well, not something to deride him for.

The same writer also made it a point to chide President Putin for as he put it, “jealously guarding Russia's "great power status" and making no secret of his suspicions of the United States, blaming Washington for organizing anti-government protests in Moscow last year”, as if interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign nations is something to applaud and completely normal and standing up for your country something bad. Typical.

NPR’s coverage was more balanced stating, “President Barack Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Mexico on Monday. Their meeting comes at a low point in U.S.-Russia relations. Neither country wants a civil war in Syria, but they haven't figured out a way to work out the issue.”

The Voice of America was also more on the balanced side reporting that “U.S. President Barack Obama said tensions with Russia could be worked out following talks with the Russian president spanning a range of topics, including Syria, Iran and trade.”

The VOA characterized the relationship between the leaders as “prickly of late”, citing the U.S. leader’s pointed delay in making a customary congratulatory call to his Russian counterpart after being elected to the post of president. They also mentioned President Putin’s decision to stay home rather than attend a Group of Eight meeting Mr. Obama hosted at his presidential retreat near Washington.

USA Today, in a piece by Richard Wolf, made a point of the lack of smiles between the leaders and used the piece on the meeting to push false unconfirmed and dangerous accusations that Russia may be providing weapons to the Syrian regime so they can quote, “kill their own people”.

His basis was a report from Interfax that Russia was sending marines to protect a Russian base and Russian citizens, something completely normal and understandable. He also cited a Pentagon spokesman who spoke regarding the supposed weapons deliveries, once again showing the US hypocrisy when they have admitted to arming the rebels.

Such accusations are the basis for an armed intervention according to many experts watching the developments surrounding Syria, and historically we have seen this many times before when it comes to the West and their “humanitarian” interventions.

Overall the meeting between President Putin and Obama was professional, cordial and productive, but there is a lot of work ahead.

Mikhail Abyzov the Minister of the Russian Federation responsible for the work of the Government Commission for Coordination of the "Open Government" initiative has told Izvestia that the Kremlin, along with financers from the private sector, is planning to open a Facebook like site sometime in June.

According to Russian media reports the site is to replace a site currently at the url: russiawithoutidiots.rf, which was developed under an initiative from former president Dmitry Medvedev and was designed to accept complaints about the actions of Russia’s civil servants.

One reason for the needed development of such a site was best summed up by President Vladimir Putin last year when asked about the internet in the context of its manipulation by the so called “opposition”. The Russian president said: "On the same internet platform you have to propose different answers … and collect a larger amount of supporters."

This is particularly true in Russian since the internet in extremely popular and has more users than any European country. Also due to the lack of strict regulation of the Russian net and the popularity of the internet with the more affluent Russians and for other reasons, any type of Chinese or even American style censorship is not something the government sees as feasible or as an option to be considered.

The big question is will users flock to a Kremlin based social network? Some officials and critics of the project are skeptical saying no, yet there are millions of people in Russia and I am sure around the world, who support the Kremlin, love Vladimir Putin and would love to have a place to meet people they can share similar views with.

As part of the “E-Government” and “Open Government” initiatives of the Russian Federation such a network makes sense and would allow the Kremlin a unique, real time and useful interface with the masses and could become an indispensable tool for testing the waters when drawing up policy changes or getting a truer reaction to the work of government.

Once again, as with the on-line web cams and streaming video during the last presidential elections, the Russian Government is using the internet as a tool to reach out to the people and to truly provide the people an open and transparent government.

Such a network is seen as an asset if not as necessary for the reason that the “opposition” has manipulated the internet to their own ends, abusing social media to plan actions and spread ant-government propaganda with many “opposition’ leaders having gained their fame through their internet blogs and other activities.

Any government in the world should stand up and pay attention, if they have not already, after social media was used recently to organize the wide-spread so called “color revolutions” and the “Arab Spring”. This should have made it clear to anyone who had doubts that social media has also become a tool by certain government’s intelligence services to foment mass unrest and promote their own agendas in foreign countries.

From an intelligence viewpoint it may be dangerous as any such open public forum would leave open the possibility for the targeting, monitoring and intelligence gathering, by foreign bodies and individuals, of the activities of people who may be innocently expressing their views or partaking information. Such information might be used by trained intelligence operatives or possibly by those want to cause social unrest. But of course this depends on what they are posting, and it is going on anyway on other social networking sites.

Most internet users in Russia today are very savvy and may be hard to manipulate but there is always that danger and it is obvious that this is already taking place all over the world if we look at the abovementioned events.

Things are not all bad and scary however, another good reason for introducing such a project is the unifying quality it may have for the country, as people from all over Russia, and let’s not forget it is a huge country, could have a place to “meet”. People who may differ in everything except perhaps their love or “like” or just plain curiosity of the Kremlin or have similar problems or complaints may finally have a common location to share their views.

So far the government has not released too many details about the interface and how exactly the whole site will work, but we do know users will be able to meet each, share their views, upload media, and chat with other users. There is also no news about what will happen to the current site at that address. Will it be eliminated completely or will it be integrated into the new project? I guess we will have to wait and see.

As for me I hope they have more options than Facebook, for example a “hate” or “indifferent” or a “love” button”, now that would be neat. I will be signing up as soon as it is possible, so see you there and happy networking. Hmmm, I wonder, will President Putin be on-line?

Despite all of the efforts of the UN and Russia and other countries that have influence in the region

Despite all of the efforts of the UN and Russia and other countries that have influence in the region, the West continues to do anything and everything that it can to facilitate and provoke an invasion of Syria and it is clear that those beating the drums of war have no interest in the untold number of lives that will be snuffed out by the hell they are preparing to unleash on the people of Syria, who are already suffering, nor on the very distinct possibility that it will ignite a larger violent conflict in the region.

If you have been following the news I am sure that you have heard by now that over the weekend a Turkish F-4 Phantom Fighter was shot down over the territory of Syria. At first Turkey reported that the aircraft was flying in international waters and almost immediately called for an emergency NATO session under article 4. As Turkey is a NATO member it does have that right to do so. Article 4 states that member countries must meet, “…whenever the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened.”

So here we have it, what anyone who has been watching the situation in Syria has been waiting for: the perfect precept for a Syrian “no fly zone, humanitarian intervention” invasion. Again directed from Washington, carried out by its surrogate NATO and taking place on the Eurasian continent.

The war drums are beating once again, and even though Turkey has now admitted the fighter “strayed” into Syrian airspace, and the wreckage has been found on the bed of the Mediterranean, in Syrian waters at a depth of 1,300 meters, there is no talk of cancelling their call for talks on NATO involvement.

While the western media is full of reports blaming Syria and the like no one thinks to question why in such a volatile area and under the current circumstances Turkey would send, or even allow, their fighter aircraft into the area and then allow it fly into Syrian air-space.

Provocation: pure and simple. And the timing could not be more perfect coming on the heels of developments that undermine the plans of the North Atlantic Alliance. The first being the Syrian government pledging to follow the peace plan drawn up by Kofi Annan and the another being the inclusion of the opposition in the new cabinet and government formed after the country’s first multiparty elections which were held on May the 7th.

This also comes on the heels of reports and the materialization of evidence that the CIA and the West are funding and arming the Syrian “rebels” and a failed propaganda attempt by Hillary Clinton to provoke Russia and again give a reason for military intervention in Syria.

The playbook is the same and follows the script for complete and total global domination that was drawn up by the Project for the New American Century before the events of 9-11, an event which served as the catalyst all of the wars we are living through today and which has pulled the world into an endless global war against phantom enemies.

First there are accusations of human rights abuses, mass killings, weapons of mass destruction, acts of aggression etc., then reports of the necessity to intervene, after which complete obliteration and destruction of the target country, massive casualties and then control of resources, the members of the new ruling class, and massive profits from reconstruction and resource control.

We have seen the same thing before with NATO and the U.S.; Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and Kosovo, it is a formula they seem to have stuck to because so far they have gone unpunished for what in fact are crimes against humanity. Yes, waging a war of aggression is a crime against humanity. Even if it is a “preventive” war as the US loves to go around labeling its bloody criminal killing enterprises.

There are always accusations of terrible crimes and violence that must not go unpunished by in fact they are the worst out-of-control killers, killing thousands and destroying countries to make them exploitable, in what must be called one the worst crimes against humanity that can be committed, and they do so on lies and through media manipulation. They have grown so emboldened that they do so regularly and will say anything at all, now without even the need for proof or backing evidence.

Take Hillary Clinton’s recent accusations against Russia accusing it of selling attack helicopters to Syria, when in fact under old contracts it was selling and servicing what are largely transport helicopters, which of course could be outfitted with guns. We could say the same thing about the US if a terrorist uses an American car, fills it with explosives and blows it up. We could say the US is supplying terrorists with exploding cars. Ridiculous, and for comments like this to be made by the Secretary of State and then for redactions to be made when they are immediately seen for the lie they are would have been an unforgiveable disgrace before 9-11.

Now they are emboldened, running amok and out of control, making statements and fabrications so obvious and so unbelievable to back up their killing machine, that it seems an effort in futility to try to counter such an assault on humanity.

For that is what it is, an assault on humanity, on every thinking, breathing, feeling and conscious being on the planet. When one country is allowed to kill at will, a country with a president who laughs that he has a daily assassination list he signs off on, the world must pull together and cut off the head of the beast even it is the Hydra.

We must not sit idly by while they invade yet another sovereign nation on false evidence, any country that does so even once must be stripped of its weapons and of any right to wage war.

The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Voice of Russia.

Even in today’s world of instant messaging, internet, mobile and satellite communications and worldwide mass media, there are still places that exist, where events take place unbeknownst to the rest of the planet. There exists countries that do not want the world to know what is going on within their borders or there exists countries that try to control the flow of information coming out of areas where their activities are not within the boundaries of what the civilized world would find as acceptable or appropriate.

Serbia and Kosovo are places where such a media blackout exists and those are places I believe need more attention from the international community another is Bahrain.

Officially called the Kingdom of Bahrain, the country is a small island nation situated in the western part of the Persian Gulf and has a population of about 1,234,571 according to a 2010 census. The country ranks 42nd on the Human Development Index, it is also a member of the UN, the WTO, the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

Bahrain was caught up in what has become known as the Arab Spring on February 14th 2011 when protestors took to the streets demanding more political freedom and an improvement in the human rights situation in the country. Originally there was no threat to the monarchy nor were there calls for a regime change in the country. This all changed however on February 17th when police killed four protestors while attempting to clear the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the central gathering place for most of the protests taking place in the country.

Since then the response and the crackdowns on peaceful and unarmed demonstrators by police and security forces has been described as brutal. Almost 3,000 people have been arrested and more than 70 have been killed, according to the acting president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Maryam Al-Khawaja, in an interview for the Voice of Russia . There are also wide spread reports of torture, beatings and the denial of medical assistance leading to death.

As with most of the Arab Spring countries there is an internal conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. In Bahrain the majority of the population is comprised of Shiites although the Sunnis control most of the government sectors and politics. There are reports of widespread and institutionalized discrimination in employment, housing and other areas against the Shiites.

According to Ms. Al-Khawaja there exists a media blackout in Bahrain. The most obvious and pervasive form being a system of filtering and blocking internet sites that is implemented and executed by the Bahraini Information Affairs Authority (IAA) and which has a noticeable impact on the overall speed of the internet traffic for the country’s more than 250,000 internet users. According to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) there are over 1,000 sites currently blocked in Bahrain including their own.

Bahrain has also seriously cracked down on bloggers and regularly arrests people for posting on Twitter and Facebook. The opposition groups views and opinions have no place in Bahraini media so they resort to the internet. One such person Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (http://www.bahrainrights.org/en ) who I interviewed last September (http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/20/56438166.html ) has been arrested twice and may have been tortured. During one arrest according to the center, he was beaten and blindfolded and in his own words was threatened with rape and kicked when he refused to say he loved the prime minister.

The situation in the country is getting worse with many experts saying that the situation may soon explode. According Ms. Al-Khawaja part of the daily routine for many Bahraini citizens involves being tear gassed and trying to save their children from suffocating.

Human rights organizations all over the world have called for a halt to dozens of widespread abuses in the Kingdom. Some of the most notable being the following: Human Rights Watch has called on the Bahrain’s High Court of Appeal to reject the use of confessions possibly obtained by torture, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint program of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) wrote an open letter to the King of Bahrain to state its concerns about the arbitrary detention of Nabeel Rajad, Amnesty International has issued many statements, in particular with regard to the persecution of medical personnel who were attempting to assist injured protestors, Human Rights first says the persecution of Human Rights Workers is getting worse, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies stated in a report: “The human rights situation in Bahrain in 2011 witnessed unprecedented deterioration at almost all levels, especially in light of the repressive retaliatory action aimed at crushing the popular uprising which demanded far-reaching democratic reforms…”, and the list goes on.

So where are the calls from the U.S. and NATO for a “humanitarian intervention” or for regime change in Bahrain, a U.S. ally that hosts a base for the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet? Nowhere. However on May 9, 2012 Hillary Clinton met with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa and expressed that “…much work remains to fully address ongoing human rights issues.” Where were statements like this to Gadaffi or to Assad?

So with all of these reports what does the U.S. do? They sell arms to the Bahraini Government. In February of this year 18 representatives and 3 Senators, all of them from the Democratic Party, wrote a letter of protest to Clinton who in turn, did nothing.

There have been widespread reports that the security forces are using military grade tear gas on protestors and gassing homes, killing civilians. But that is just one of the lesser pieces of equipment and weaponry that the U.S. is selling Bahrain. The entire Bahraini military, called the Bahraini Defense Force and numbering about 13,000, is equipped U.S. hardware, everything from F-16s, to Blackhawk helicopters, to Abrams tanks and even an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate. But the relationship does not end there, Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet giving them a base in Juffair and has signed a cooperation agreement with the U.S. military.

When speaking recently with regards to Syria I think Russia’s plenipotentiary envoy in human rights affairs, Konstantin Dulgov said it best: ““Double standards in human rights is unacceptable and Russia and the majority of the international community reject that”.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter also recently stated something worth repeating with regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; “the U.S. Government’s policies are now clearly violating at least 10 of the declaration’s 30 articles, including the prohibition against “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

So there you go, another example of a double standard and complete hypocrisy from the only country in the world where its leader signs off on a daily kill list. Who shall we kill today?

June 28th was a very important day for the Serbian people and for Serbian Orthodox Christians.

On the 28th of June, according to the Gregorian Calendar, Orthodox Serbs celebrate Vidovdan or St. Vitus Day or the Feast of St. Vitus as it is also known, but the day is also very important for other reasons.

The date is also associated with the epic Battle of Kosovo when Serbian martyrs gave their lives to defend Kosovo against the Ottoman Empire on June 28, 1389 and the Serbian Orthodox Church has named it a Memorial Day for St. Prince Lazar who led the Serbs against the massive invading army of the Ottoman Empire and perished. During the battle the Ottoman leader Sultan Murad I was killed by the mythological Serbian knight Miloš Obilić.

So as you see the day is very important for the Serbian people. Historically the day has also seen many significant events take place. For example it is not a coincidence that on June 28, 1914 the Austro-Hungarian crown prince, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated triggering World War I. Another important event on this day was the signing of the Treaty of Versailles which ended the same war.

On June 28, 1921 Serbian King Alexander I introduced what was called the Vidovdan Constitution, for the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

On June 28, 2012 Serbs traveling to and from the site of the Battle of Kosovo and attempting to celebrate the proud day in their history were attacked, persecuted and forced to tolerate disgraceful and degrading treatment at the hands, according to witness reports, Albanian police, thugs, and vicious hooligans under the watchful eye of KFOR.

KFOR and EULEX for their part have apparently made rare statements condemning the attacks but any activity from their side to bring those responsible to justice has yet to be seen.

There are conflicting reports and it is hard to get an accurate picture of the event because of the continuing media blackout and obfuscating by the western press but the events apparently included the following: At approximately 04:20 in the morning a multi-ethnic police checkpoint in a village in the municipality of Bujanovac Dobrosin came under heavy automatic weapons fire from the territory of Kosovo and one policeman was injured by a high-velocity rifle round.

On the approach to Gazimestan members of special units of the Kosovo Police set up checkpoints and subjected the Serbs who were on their way to the celebrations to degrading and treatment. Serbs wearing t-shirt with words such as “Kosovo is Serbia” and anything with Cyrillic writing on it was seized and not given back. There were some reports that Serbian flags were also being seized and that women were made to remove their t-shirts too.

A radio and TV journalist from Serbia Sinisa Mihajlovic said that the Kosovo police forcibly removed her shirt and a reporter with the Voice of Serbia, Goran Maunaga, also was forced to remove his shirt. Mihaijlovic was quoted in the press as saying they were told that they could only stay in Gazimestan until 14.00 hours. Most of those wishing to enter Gazimestan were turned away nonetheless.

Other shirts that were seized had inscriptions which read "Banja Luka - Serbian Republic" and "Brothers, we are with you." According to Mihajlovic, the explanation from the Kosovo and Metohija police was that wearing t-shirts printed in Cyrillic, showing arms or any word that is associated with Serbia is forbidden by law.

One of the worst incidents of the day came at around 08:00 am when a group of fans of the Partisan Belgrade Football Club, which had organized celebrations on St. Vitus day, were stopped by Kosovo police at Merdare and beaten and attacked. 20 people were injured with 10 being listed in serious condition. There are reports that police opened fire on the youths, seriously injuring at least one when they tried to run for safety after the bus they were in was attacked by an Albanian mob.

By far the most disturbing was an attack by Albanian mobs and Kosovo police on two buses carrying approximately 70 Serbs, youth aged 8 to 16 who were travelling to Gazimestan, and near Pristina were turned back by police, according to media reports. Some reports said that the police then escorted the buses to a point where they stopped and were ambushed by an Albanian mob which through concrete block at the buses to break the windows and then threw Molotov cocktails at the buses in an apparent attempt to burn the children inside alive. The subsequent clashes reportedly left 50 people injured.

The attack by Muslim Albanian fanatics came on one of the holiest Serbian national and religious, orthodox Christian holidays, which marks anniversary of 28 June 1389 “Battle of Kosovo”,

The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo, Bishop Teodosije, condemned the attacks and a number of other savage Albanian attacks on the Serbian Christian minority and as Mirodrag Nivakovic, a Serbian reporter, put it, all “under the idle watch of the so-called “stabilizing” KFOR force, and the European “mission of law” Eulex police.

Information from the VOR, Tanjug, Serbian Pravda, Kurir, Nezavisne Novine and private sources used in this report. Numbers and details subject to change as there are conflicting reports and updated information is still coming in.

The Syrian Government has agreed to the Kofi Annan peace plan. Why won’t the armed “opposition”? Let’s pause for a minute and look Kofi Annan’s peace plan and at exactly what the Syrian “opposition” is so opposed to.

We have seen it all before and it is becoming so obvious that one would have to live in a cave under a rock to not have noticed it, or one would have to take the words of the U.S. through its international spokesperson Hillary Clinton at face value. If you tell a lie and it is big enough and you repeat it enough the people will believe it. During the Bush years it was the key tool of the U.S. on the American public, now it has been exported, and as America continues to attempt to take over the world on every front, the entire world is now being subjugated to the “big lie”.

Hillary Clinton just can’t seem to get enough of making provocative if not factually challenged statements about Russia, but wait I am getting ahead of myself. What it is that we have seen before is what has become the standard modus-operandi of the United States in invading countries and raping their resources. Make a lot of noise about a humanitarian crisis and if one does not exist make it up or create it (lie 1), make sure the country can not fight back, force them to disarm (Iraq, Libya, Iran and now Syria) or get rid of their defensive weapons (lie 2), if needed arm the opposition in the country no matter who they are and deny it (lie 3), create a reason for a military invasion, this can be weapons of mass destruction, implementing a no-fly zone, etc. (lie 4), take control of an needed resources through front companies, planted officials and the like (lie 5), and make millions on reconstruction of the countries they destroy, for the good of the people of course (lie 6).

Now let’s look at the latest lie by Hilarity Clinton, I do not mean to be disrespectful but how can you not laugh at some of the utterly hilarious things she says; “…we came, we saw, he died.” Outrageousness! This time Clinton continues in the same vein that Russia is arming the Assad regime to kill the poor demonstrators. And of course it must stop and of course it is up to the great world’s policeman to come in and blow the hell out of everything in the country (and pillage of course and rebuild no doubt). Which they can not do yet because guess what? Russia has been selling defensive weapons to Syria. I repeat defensive. Defensive. Defensive. Defensive.

Now in reality Clinton knows this, just like she knows Russia was fulfilling contract obligations when supplying and servicing Syrian transport helicopters, something we talked about recently. Comments she was forced to take back, by the way. But the U.S. needs to make sure that Syria can not fight back before they invade it (Was recent F-4 downing a test case?). It is a cowardly strategy, just like the use of drones controlled from the comfort of some bunker in California, by some guy who doesn’t even have to make sure who he is killing. So Clinton will keep up the big lie about Russia arming the evil Syrian government, whilst her CIA is running arms to the Syrian opposition and importing terrorists into the country to continue the violence and the killing of Syrian civilians.

The Interfax News Agency recently reported that Clinton said it was important that Russia stopped providing Damascus with weapons. She stressed it was of uttermost importance to cut off the arms supply to the Assad regime and continues to ignore Russian claims that none of the weapons it has been ferrying to Syria are used to crack down on protests, saying the US was of a different opinion. Of course you have a different opinion Madam Secretary of State, this does not fit into your prepared scenario, and any weapons of the defensive type must be gotten rid of because the U.S. needs to be able to go in, wipe out the country and suffer no casualties, otherwise the voters back in Iowa might get upset when their boys start coming home in body bags and all of those involved in launching another unprovoked war might have to answer for their deeds.

Given that we know that the U.S. is just itching to launch an attack on Syria, and continue their damn-it-all-cowboy-diplomacy of shoot first and get paid for the clean up later, given that we know that the CIA is backing, funding, and arming the Syrian opposition, it is not surprising that said “opposition”, if you can call armed insurgents, mercenaries and imported terrorists that, have now, lo-and-behold, refused to enter into peace talks and are complaining that participants in the Cairo conference “reject any idea of armed interference to save the people”. This does not fit into U.S. plans for an invasion and they will not rest until they see Bashar Assad brutally murdered, like they did with Hussein, Gadaffi, Milosevic and others.

Let’s pause for a minute and look Kofi Annan’s peace plan and at exactly what the Syrian “opposition” is so opposed to. The text of the six-point plan:

(1) commit to work with the Envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people, and, to this end, commit to appoint an empowered interlocutor when invited to do so by the Envoy;

(2) commit to stop the fighting and achieve urgently an effective United Nations supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians and stabilize the country.

To this end, the Syrian government should immediately cease troop movements towards, and end the use of heavy weapons in, population centers, and begin pullback of military concentrations in and around population centers.

As these actions are being taken on the ground, the Syrian government should work with the Envoy to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism.

Similar commitments would be sought by the Envoy from the opposition and all relevant elements to stop the fighting and work with him to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism;

(3) ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and to this end, as immediate steps, to accept and implement a daily two hour humanitarian pause and to coordinate exact time and modalities of the daily pause through an efficient mechanism, including at local level;

(4) intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons, including especially vulnerable categories of persons, and persons involved in peaceful political activities, provide without delay through appropriate channels a list of all places in which such persons are being detained, immediately begin organizing access to such locations and through appropriate channels respond promptly to all written requests for information, access or release regarding such persons;

(5) ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them;

(6) respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.

The Syrian Government has agreed to the plan. Why won’t the armed “opposition”?

In an interview with Bloomberg Clinton was asked about article 7 of the UN Charter to which she replied; “…if Kofi Annan comes to the Security Council and reports to us that the government’s not cooperating, that other parties are not cooperating (Does she mean the U.S. will go in and stop the armed insurgents?), that he’s not making progress. Then I think we will have to act.” Chapter 7 of the UN Charter also authorizes implementation of military force to ward off any threat to the global peace.

Very interesting, the single most dangerous country in the world today and the single greatest threat to world peace is the U.S. and their plans for global domination, (The Project for the New American Century anyone?) Article 7in reality could be applied to the U.S. if the world gets together and in the name of world peace rid these homicidal lunatics of their weapons of mass “humanitarian intervention.

Occupy Movement is it is an international movement against social and economic inequality. Below you will find a quick summary of what is going on in the Occupy Movement.

I have been covering the Occupy Movement since the very beginning with my first interviewee being Bill Csapo from Occupy Wall Street back on September 17th of last year. Since then I have spoken and interviewed “Occupiers” from almost every major Occupation. Below you will find a quick summary of what is going on in the Occupy Movement. Unfortunately it appears that after the Chicago NATO crack down the movement has grown quieter.

In case you are not aware as to what the Occupy Movement is it is an international movement against social and economic inequality. Different groups have different foci, but among the primary concerns is the claim that large corporations and the global financial system control the world, and the 99%, in a way that benefits the minority, the 1%, and undermines democracy leading to instability

After months of organizing, Occupy Evanston managed to secure an Evanston City Council meeting on divesting from Chase bank. At the City council meeting this Monday, City Council members unanimously authorized the city manager to issue a request for proposals for a local bank that could replace Chase.

Chicago anti NATO protestors remain locked up, according to them; because Mayor 1% Rahm Emanuel and Chief Garry McCarthy needed to justify police harassment, intimidation, brutality, and repression leading up to the NATO Summit. Brian Church, Jared Chase, Brent Betterly, Sebastian Senakiewicz and Mark Neiweem are all being held in Cook County.

The Occupy National Gathering kicked off on June 30th, 2012 with workshops, speakers, and a march against corporate personhood, making stops at Wells Fargo to protest racist predatory lending, Fox News to confront corporate profit at the expense of the peoples' airwaves, and ended with an attempt to set up a space away from Independence Mall, in a park behind the Second Bank of the United States, located at 4th and Chestnut. This was promptly, and brutally, followed by a National Park Service raid, which included the assistance of the Philadelphia police department, on approximately 150-200 people peacefully assembled for a redress of political grievances. The raid resulted in one arrest.

The protests in Chicago show that Occupy is a network committed to social change through direct action. Arguably, the policies of NATO benefit Americans the most, so to march against NATO in America is a very strong statement against war and how it perpetuates uneven capitalist development. At NATO, the rich and powerful decide which countries to invade.

General Assembly & All Committees Meeting scheduled. The General Assembly is to decide on whether to, and to what degree to support the caravans and the national gathering happening in Philadelphia on July 4.

The 1st General Assembly of Occupy Oakland in the month of July was on Sunday, and there were a number of proposals being put forth, such as:

1. The proposal to endorse and help organize the Occupy Oakland Liberate Everything Conference this summer, geared towards providing a more radical tone and communicating the unique perspective of Occupy Oakland to others and the world,

2. A proposal to jointly plan an Occupy Oakland July 4th action of some sort or another

Kicks off June 11 from Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles and will travel three routes across America on their way to Philadelphia for the five-day Occupy National Gathering that ends July 4 on Independence Mall.

At each stop, cities will be organizing events to welcome the Caravan which brings with it musicians, speakers and performers -- a traveling democratic road show that educates as it entertains!

Feed-in caravans will be joining along the way, and celebrations are scheduled in half a dozen Hub cities.

As of June 21, 2012 there have been 7,308 arrests of Occupiers in 116 different cities.

The decision to start up the reactor was made despite widespread protests and the fact that approximately 70% of Japanese want the government to prohibit the use of nuclear power indefinitely.

According to NHK some 7,000 protesters marched through Tokyo in opposition to the planned restart and to nuclear power, calling for a ban on nuclear power production.

The Ohi nuclear power plant uses pressurized water reactors (PWR) unlike those that melted down at Fukushima, which were boiling water reactors (BWR). They are both classified as light water nuclear reactors. The main difference between a BWR and PWR is that in a BWR, the reactor core heats water, which turns to steam and then drives a steam turbine.

In a PWR, the reactor core heats pressurized water which does not boil but does reach the boiling point. This hot water then exchanges heat with a lower pressure water system, which does in fact boil and turns to steam to drive the turbine.

The BWR was developed in the U.S. by the Idaho National Laboratory and General Electric in the mid-1950s.

The particular model used at Fukushima had inherent design flaws in the containment structure from the outset and engineers predicted the exact scenario that happened at Fukushima.

The General Electric Corporation began constructing the Mark-1 BWR reactors in the 1960s, claiming that they were cheaper and easier to build in part because they used a smaller and less expensive containment structure, and this is where the main problems lie.

A fact sheet published from the anti-nuclear advocacy group Nuclear Information and Resource Service, which is available on the internet, details problems with the design and states that in 1972 an Atomic Energy Commission member, Dr. Stephen Hanuaer, recommended that this type of system be discontinued.

More questions arose about the design in the mid-1980s, after Nuclear Regulatory Commission official Harold Denton stated that the Mark-1 reactors had; “…a 90 percent probability of bursting should the fuel rods overheat and melt in an accident.”

Thirty-five years ago, while reviewing the design for the Mark-1, Nuclear Engineers Dale G. Bridenbaugh and two of his colleagues at General Electric were pressured into okaying the designs for the Mark-1 and were forced to resign after becoming convinced that the Mark 1 was so flawed it could lead to a catastrophe.

The key issue in this piece is, and there is very little detailed information out there on the subject, how many of Japan’s nuclear power plants run the G-E BWR Mark-1 reactors. All of the Fukushima reactors used the Mark 1 containment system while the sixth had the upgraded to Mark 2 system.

Below is a list of all Japanese ВRW reactors.

Reactor Location Type Containment Rating Status Operator

Fukushima I-1 Futaba, Fukushima BWR 439 Meltdown/exploded March 2011 TEPCO

Fukushima I-2 BWR Mark I 760 Meltdown March 2011 TEPCO

Fukushima I-3 BWR Mark I 760 Meltdown/exploded March 2011 TEPCO

Fukushima I-4 BWR Mark I 760 Meltdown/exploded March 2011 TEPCO

Fukushima I-5 BWR Mark I 760 Operational April 18, 1978 TEPCO

Fukushima I-6 BWR Mark II 1067 Operational October 1979 TEPCO

Fukushima II-1 BWR Mark II 1067 Operational April 1982 TEPCO

Fukushima II-2 BWR Mark II A 1067 Operational February 1984 TEPCO

Fukushima II-3 BWR Mark II A 1067 Operational June 1985 TEPCO

Fukushima II-4 BWR Mark II A 1067 Operational August 1987 TEPCO

Genkai-1 PWR 529 Operational October 1975 Kyūshū Electric

Hamaoka-1 BWR 515 Operational March 1976 Chūbu Electric

Hamaoka-2 BWR 806 Operational November 1978 Chūbu Electric

Hamaoka-3 BWR-5 1056 Operational August 1987 Chūbu Electric

Hamaoka-4 BWR-5 1092 Operational September 1993 Chūbu Electric

Higashidōri-1 BWR 1067 Operational December 2005 Tōhoku Electric

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa-1 BWR 1067 Operational September 1985 TEPCO

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa-2 BWR 1067 Operational September 1990 TEPCO

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa-3 BWR 1067 Operational August 1993 TEPCO

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa-4 BWR 1067 Operational August 1994 TEPCO

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa-5 BWR 1067 Operational April 1990 TEPCO

Onagawa-1 BWR 498 Operational June 1984 Tōhoku Electric

Onagawa-2 BWR 796 Operational July 1995 Tōhoku Electric

Onagawa-3 BWR 798 Operational January 2002 Tōhoku Electric

Shika-1 BWR 505 Operational July 1993 RIKUDEN

Tōkai-2 BWR 1056 Operational November 1978 JAPC

Tsuruga-1 BWR 341 Operational March 1970 JAPC

JPDR-II BWR 13 1963–1982

Maybe it is time that all of these reactors were upgraded or shut down. Most have been on-line since the 1970s, and it is doubtful they become safer with time.

The opinions and views expressed here are the writer’s own.

For senior citizens life in America can be very difficult. The combination of the high cost of living, exorbitant medical care costs and limited social support coupled with decreased mobility, isolation and greater needs makes it close to impossible for many seniors to live full and normal lives.

Sadly assistance and budgeting for seniors is not enshrined in U.S. law but is now the subject of political tennis as budget cuts affecting the level of benefits seniors receive is unfortunately a subject for negotiation.

The main law in the U.S. under which funding is provided for seniors, the Older Americans Act, expired at the end of the 2011 Fiscal Year, yet the U.S. Congress has continued to provide funding for programs under the act.

On January 26, 2012, the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2012 were introduced and were supposed to make changes and continue authorization of the Older Americans Act something which in the past has been done for five year periods. The current bill would extend the authorization of appropriations for most Older American Act programs through FY2017. Yet the current bill has become bogged down with some predicting it passing sometime next year.

Due to the fact that the Older Americans Act is classified as a discretionary program the House and Senate Appropriations Committees is now including it as an area where necessary budget cuts can be made, unfortunately these cuts have a direct impact on the quality of life of seniors.

One area that affects seniors and one program that many American Seniors and caregivers depend on is the meals on wheels program. For many seniors this program provides them with the only hot meal they receive a day. For care providers the meals on wheels program also provides for a means to regularly check on the health and welfare of shut in and isolated seniors.

Food insecurity is a large problem for U.S. seniors and the hardest hit are mostly Black and Latino seniors. Through no fault of their own seniors often require special diets for medical reasons and their incomes are often not enough to pay for food. Programs such as food banks or meals programs at senior centers are often used by seniors and provide many of them with the means to survive.

According to the website Feeding America org there are almost 4 million American seniors who are food insecure. This is due to the high cost of living, fixed incomes with no cost of living adjustments, high medical costs and other factors. These factors often cause seniors to have to choose between eating or paying for healthcare or housing or other basic needs.

Another area to which $700 billion in funding cuts is being proposed is the Medicaid program which provides a small level of medical support for the elderly, the poor and those making smaller salaries.

Some Americans deride social programs, such as they did with Social Security, calling them a step toward socialism, but for many older Americans who worked all of their lives and counted on these programs, cutting their funding or the funding of programs they support is like a slap in the face.

Another area that the Federal Government has proposed cuts to is the Food Stamp program, a program that allows many of the elderly, disabled, poor and for many veterans as well, to eat. The program comes under a larger U.S. farm bill and includes cuts in the amount of $45 billion dollars, which will leave almost a million people with almost $100 less every month to buy food.

In most modern countries social assistance for the elderly and social programs in general are seen as part of the overall system of assistance that the citizenry fund through taxes and are seen as part of their responsibility to their country and their fellow citizens.

For the U.S. on the other hand most responsibility for all social needs including health care, costs associated with bringing up a child, costs associated with job loss, medical problems, disability, housing and more are considered the responsibility of the individual. Of all of these none are considered a right and all are areas where a profit is to be had.

In any society seniors should be protected, honored and supported as it is their work and struggles that have made our lives possible. If a country forgets their seniors, what future can they expect for themselves?

The Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that they are capable of destroying 35 U.S. military bases within minutes if they are attacked.

This information came in a statement by the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force on Wednesday.

Recently Iran has also stated that U.S. warships are also “easy” targets. The Iranian general also stated that Palestinian lands, a direct reference to Israel, are also easy targets as well.

The statements made by Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh may be an upping of the rhetoric, after what are seen by some in the West as “failed” talks to end the Iranian nuclear conflict, but sources knowledgeable about Iran’s military capabilities say that there may in fact be reason for concern.

Moscow believes some progress was made at the recently held talks in the Russian capital but the U.S. and Israel have stated that there is no more use for diplomacy, meaning that they may be preparing for another military invasion.

For the U.S. Iran’s statements may be their second greatest fear, invading a country that has enough teeth to strike back and do significant damage to its forces and interests. Proof of this can be seen in its military “adventures” in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, an attempt on pressuring Korea and next up in Syria.

Iraq and Libya, for their part, worked with the U.S. and agreed to disarm. Those two countries both agreed to the U.S. terms and attempted to appease the U.S. to rid themselves of sanctions etc. but instead they were eventually invaded, decimated and had their leaders killed.

Afghanistan was seen as easy prey and a primitive country that was living in the Middle Ages and the U.S. believed they would go and wipe everybody out and be out of there in a matter of months, never once looking at the lessons to be learned by the Soviet Union’s operations in the country.

Korea was also supposed to submit in the same way as Iraq and Libya did but decided on its own course and has been for the most part left alone. Iran has also refused to acquiesce to U.S. demands and instead of disarming, stopping its nuclear program and bowing to western demands has done the opposite and has armed itself to the teeth preparing for war against a superior opponent.

Unfortunately for the West this is the now the case and they have no one to blame except themselves. After seeing what happened in Iraq and Libya, and with all of the meddling the U.S. has been up to in the Middle East there are few countries who would dare to disarm for fear of being stabbed in the back and invaded.

Iran has also promised to close the Strait of Hormuz saying that U.S. warships would be easy targets. According to the WND website, citing their own sources, the Iranians are prepared to use an asymmetrical warfare tactic against warships that they called “swarming”, that is using up to 150 small fast and maneuverable boats that can be loaded with missiles or suicide bombers all coming from different directions and quite literally swarming down on U.S. warships.

At the beginning of this piece I mentioned the U.S. second biggest fear, but what is the first? The first and foremost we saw on 9-11, regardless on whom you blame for its planning, and that is an attack on U.S. soil. America is comfortable bombing and invading small, more or less defenseless countries on the other side of the world and this has even become a popular point with American voters, which we saw with regards to the former Yugoslavia.

Will America back off on Iran if it believes it will suffer massive losses? Or will it take the threat of a symmetrical attack on U.S. soil to finally convince the West that peaceful dialogue, mutual respect and diplomacy are the best ways to get along with the rest of the world?

Why does the West feel the need to recreate the planet in its own image? The world is full of countries, peoples and cultures that have their own rich heritages, customs and beliefs, things that can be shared, learned from, and which should be respected.

After World War II the United Nations was created and it was supposed to be the place where differences could be worked out and where we could discuss mutually important issues in an atmosphere of shared respect and as equals. Never again was the world supposed to allow one country to dominate it and subjugate it as Hitler had attempted to do.

So why are we allowing the U.S. to do so in the name of Democracy or humanitarian intervention or security? Iran has decided to stand up against what they know to be a superior force. I know I may sound completely naïve in saying this but why can’t we respect each other, assist each other and just get along?

You may blame Iran and say they have no right to arm themselves, you may say they are a threat to world peace, but in reality they have been pushed into a corner and they feel their country and their existence is under threat. Why is it that only the West can arm itself to the teeth and subjugate the world?

It was supposed to be the big saving face I suppose, but sadly as if to underline the failure of the Western adventure in Afghanistan, a conference by donor countries was recently held not in some free and peaceful city of Afghanistan, liberated by the peace-bringing-humanitarian-intervening NATO, but at a safe distance, in Tokyo Japan.

President Hamid Karzai looked worried and none too pleased. Perhaps he knows that when NATO leaves his chances of staying in power decrease exponentially. Perhaps he is tired of having to pose for photo ops with the same occupiers who have countless times ignored his calls for an end to civilian casualties and who have apologized countless times for the same casualties and the countless horrific acts against his people; acts of mass murder, urinating on corpses, collecting body parts as trophies, torture and much more, a sickening list too long to go into here.

It’s an election year in the U.S. and a pull-out is politically expedient and soon NATO will be abandoning Karzai and the country it has devastated for over a decade, so a saving face plan had to be carried out. On the surface it looks as if the kind and benevolent West is out to help Afghanistan, granting it a special non-NATO ally/special ally status and $16 billion in economic aid. I guess this is supposed to please the Afghan people. Of course the $16 billion will be able to assist the Afghan people in paying all of the Western reconstruction contractors and the special status will only serve to give the U.S. a legal framework for its long term geo-strategic plans in the region. A fact underlined by a statement made by Clinton at the donor summit: “We had no intention to leave Afghanistan. On the contrary, we are building partnerships with Afghanistan, which will continue far into the future."

Far into the future? Is the same in store for Pakistan which also recently received the “special ally” status from the U.S.?

As for the money it is supposed to in some way guarantee that the country does not spiral into complete anarchy once the NATO forces leave, that is their public reason. The real reason for the money may be the buying of continued influence in the country. One reason why the West was so opposed to Iran’s offer to build infrastructure and roads in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile the Taliban have continued to show the world that the U.S. has gotten nowhere in Afghanistan. Shortly after the donor meeting in Tokyo the Taliban launched a huge, albeit not entirely effective, attack on multiple targets in the country; a massive attack according to reports, resulting in 23 dead, 17 of them being Taliban. They were launched in response to the donor meeting which the Taliban saw as an agreement to continue a foreign occupation of their country.

Perhaps they are right, but who is really the worst in this conflict? The NATO/US forces who have killed up to tens of thousands either directly or indirectly, in their “righteous” war, or the Taliban, who have sadly, proven time and time again that they can be just as savage, if not more so, than the occupiers of their country.

Sadly for Afghanistan the future looks bleak. Another recent event in a village called Qol-i-Heer in central Afghanistan, further serves to underline the West's utter and dismal failure in Afghanistan, namely the cold-blooded execution of a poor Afghan girl named Najiba who was in her early 20s. She was publicly executed by the brutal and primitive Taliban for alleged “illegal sex” after she was passed back and forth between two top Taliban leaders. A brutal and cowardly act against all women and civilized people.

Sure the Taliban are brutal, backwards and primitive savages making a mockery of their very name “Taliban”, which means roughly "Students of the Holy Koran", but, who in fact are the worst savages? Those who kill hundreds because of their primitive, brutal and backward beliefs, or those who kill thousands and have press teams, slick-looking uniforms and smooth-talking spokespeople and kill for the primitive motives of domination, or revenge for an attack they may have planned themselves?

Sadly for the Afghan people the answer to this question is not one that can be easily answered, nor if answered, would it help them in any way.

Do you suffer from Friggatriskaidekaphobia or Paraskevidekatriaphobia? If you do you are not alone. If you have never heard the words Friggatriskaidekaphobia or Paraskevidekatriaphobia, then don’t worry – you are also not alone. Both words are names for the same irrational fear: the fear of Friday the 13th .

The origin of the two words goes way back. The first – Friggatriskaidekaphobia – is a combination of the word “Frigg” (the name of the Norse goddess after whom Friday was named), and the word “triskaidekaphobia” which means the fear of the number thirteen. The second word is a grouping of three Greek words: paraskeví, which is the Greek word for Friday; dekatreís, meaning the number thirteen; and of course the suffix phobia, from the word phóbos.

There have been many scientists and reputable organizations over the years who have studied statistics and factual data to try and fathom whether the basis for this fear is somehow something more than just a superstition. Although different conclusions have been reached, people the world over continue to fear this day regardless.

For Russians, this day is not seen as being as unlucky as it is in the West, and there is not such a widespread dread of the two digits. For example, buildings have a 13th floor. Hotels, offices, and apartment blocks all have rooms or offices or apartments numbered 13. However there are some in Russia who also have ominous things to say about Friday the 13th . With regards to July 13th 2012, the head of the Russian school of astrology Alexander Zara told Interfax News Agency that this particular day may be an unlucky one.

According to Mr. Zara, July 11 saw the beginning of what is called the “Black Moon” –a term in astronomy that is neither well-known nor frequently used. The term “Black Moon” is used to describe the occurrence of two dark cycles of the moon in a single calendar month. Many who believe in the esoteric and in magic say that during the period of the second dark moon, any magic that is worked is extremely powerful – as are the forces of the spiritual world. He warns not to make hasty decisions and be more attentive on this day.

For people in many countries, Friday the 13th is a day like any other. For some, especially Americans, Friday the 13th is an extremely unlucky event, with some even refusing to drive, go to work, make serious decisions, or even leave their homes.

There are many different arguments and claims to the origin of the fear, among them those based in religion. One popular example is that Judas Iscariot was the thirteenth guest at the Last Supper, while Jesus died on a Friday. The great flood survived by Noah’s Ark is said to have occurred on Friday. Even Eve’s apple-temptation of Adam apparently occurred on a Friday.

In Norse mythology, Loki – the shape-shifting god of mischief – crashed a banquet being held by twelve other gods, bringing the total number of guests to thirteen.

Some say it originates with the arrests of all of the Templar Knights on the order of French King Philip IV, which took place on Friday 13th, October 1307. Others say that the Egyptian belief in the thirteenth stage of life that then became a fear of death was the origin of the fear.

Not all countries are terrified of one particular date in the calendar. For the Greeks and in many Spanish-speaking countries, Tuesday the 13th is considered unlucky. In Italy Friday the 17th is unlucky.

If you do feel a little dread on this day, don’t worry – it’s the last one of 2012. January 13th and April 13th have long since passed. Yet regardless of how superstitious you are, be attentive and careful all the same – there’s a chance they might just be right.

The views and opinions expressed here are the writer’s own. Some information from Interfax was used in making this report.

Many questions remain as to the real reasons for the NATO and US bombing of the former Yugoslavia. Was it a test run for an even grander plan of world domination? Was it a political move to draw attention away from a US president’s infidelities? Recently the site Wikileaks began publishing the Statfor e-mails, some of them contain bomb-shells others an inside look into the often twisted thinking behind US policy. You decide which one this is.

Recently while going through some information on the Wikileaks site, as many journalists I am sure do, trying to find something of interest or perhaps a bomb-shell, I came across an e-mail regarding an article by the founder, CEO and self-described chief intelligence officer of the private intelligence corporation Stratfor. The original can be seen here: http://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/299114_geopolitical-intelligence-report-russia-kosovo-and-the.html

The reason Stratfor is an important organization to watch, in my opinion, is because they provide intelligence to private individuals and corporations worldwide that is used in the implementation of policy and the formation of plans and goals. Stratfor also closely echoes the official and often un-spoken position of the U.S. on issues that have global impact. Those two points and the fact that Stratfor has, or at least wants you to believe they have, close connections to the U.S. intelligence community may allow the observer to obtain a look at the thinking that is used in the formulation of U.S. policy and/or activities.

As a piece currently published on their site shows Stratfor does not hide the U.S.’ imperial ambitions or its plans at world domination, which brings me back to the subject of the e-mail I mentioned above. The article by George Friedman, about which the e-mail was written, was disturbing as it describes in an open, candid and arrogant manner U.S. policy regarding Kosovo, the Balkans and the former Yugoslavia.

The article itself was written in December of 2007 but is still revealing enough to be of historical significance as it shows the attitude of the U.S. towards Russia as well, during a time when Russia welcomed the U.S. with (for lack of a better expression) open arms.

His first claim regarding Kosovo, is that it is an “archaic topic”, he also says it isn’t regarded seriously and that you “… hear about it but you don’t care.” This is definitely a point that the Serb people would have a problem with and clearly shows a belittling attitude toward the whole conflict.

His comments about Russia are no better and he states that at the time of the Yugoslavia campaign, Russia was weak and its wishes were irrelevant. He goes on to describe how the U.S. intentionally lied to Russia so Russia would end the war the U.S. started, and was apparently helpless to stop, by promising Russia a peacekeeping role in Kosovo which the U.S. never allowed. He also repeats how the events in Kosovo “fly in the face of Russia” as if this alone is reason enough for what they are doing in Serbia.

Mr. Friedman goes on to admit that the so called “atrocities” that were supposed to have occurred in Kosovo and what the Clinton administration said was taking place were all fabrications and that this “was not the point”. So what was the point? The point was that the U.S. and NATO had geopolitical plans for the Balkans and were set on dividing and remaking the region to their own advantage or as Mr. Friedman put it “continue the policy of re-engineering Yugoslavia.”

Regarding supporting the independence of Kosovo he admits in perfectly clear terms that the U.S. and NATO (KFOR) are operating “… without either a U.N. or NATO mandate.”

The arrogance continues with opinions-presented-as-fact regarding Russia and Russian thinking or beliefs. Mr. Friedman also makes several statements and claims regarding what President Vladimir Putin was thinking or feeling as if he had access to the President’s thoughts or emotions. Something completely inappropriate when speaking about a head of state, a leader which it was clear the writer knew almost nothing about.

The piece ends with the following and I quote, “But here is the basic fact: For the United States and its allies, Kosovo is a side issue of no great importance.” I am sure that for the Serbian people, who view Kosovo as an integral and extremely important part of their heritage and country, such a statement and such thinking would be cause for alarm, to say the least.

Neither Mr. Friedman nor Startfor responded to requests for comments or an interview regarding the e-mail in question.

In the western media there exists a tangible and increasingly obvious media bias towards global events and countries around the world, in particular when it comes to reporting on Russia related issues. For the U.S. media in particular, recent years have seen a decline in readership and a plethora of other problems: scandals about manipulation, plagiarism, intimidation, falling profits and obvious cases of reporting outright lies as fact.

The reasons for this are many and even though there does not exist an official censorship body which controls the media, most U.S. media outlets are the victims of self-censorship or “Market Censorship” as some call it. This occurs due to a desire not to offend or displease their advertisers, owners or the government.

Regardless of the underlying reasons it exists and must be countered. Most readers and consumers of information and news are intelligent and can often judge for themselves how much validity to give a particular source but the majority do not have the time to investigate and take a closer look at the information they are presented. Most of their time is spent in digesting the information they are given and this is exactly what those who wish to manipulate the media count on. Unfortunately this occurs so regularly that media-manipulators have become emboldened and rely on this fact.

One shining example of “less-than-honest-media”, and that is putting it lightly, would be Ruport Murdoch’s Fox News, an outlet so blatantly dishonest that it is rarely taken seriously by anyone who slightly opposes their views or seeks a balanced source of information. The practices of Fox News include everything from having their own goon squad, or “Fox Security” as they call it, which is used to harass and physically intimidate people who oppose the organization, to doctoring photographs of people they target so they appear less attractive. (Wikipedia, Political Cortex, Prison Planet, Dailykos.com, Firedoglake.blogspot.com)

When investigating Western media bias toward Russia some recent shining and blatant examples are impossible not to mention and too often Fox News is right in the middle them. (NewsHounds) The most recent outright falsifications and attempts at cover up involve the events in South Ossetia and the recent demonstrations by the so-called “opposition” here in Moscow. Other areas that are continuously the object of censorship and manipulation include Iran, Syrian, the Middle-Eastern conflicts and Balkan coverage.

One good example of manipulation by the media was coverage of the invasion and bombing of South Ossetia and the murder of civilians by the Georgian Army. The false reporting quickly became clear and obvious as witness reports began to come out. The clearest example being the scandal surrounding the then 12-year-old Amanda Kokoeva who was stopped from telling her story in an interview on Fox News after she began telling how she and her family were saved from the Georgians by Russian forces. (Russia Today)

The numerous doctored photos and even video coverage of the recent demonstrations in Moscow are also another clear example of western media manipulation. These include the usage of Moscow crowd photos from 1991 (TheAtlantic.com) and footage of Greek riots passed along as being in Moscow, (HyperVocal.com) also by Fox News. All of these attempts were engineered to show that the level of violence and the amount of the people involved were much greater than they were in reality.

The reality was that many of these events were attended by more western reporters than demonstrators and that even though they were being funded by the U.S., through NGOs and their agents, (ActivistPost.com) and people were being paid to attend the anti-government demonstrations, (SFGate.com) the actual turnout was nothing to write home about. The fact that the U.S. attempted to interfere in the election of President Putin and organized anyone it could to do everything possible to de-legitimize the election of the popular and well-loved leader is just one more example of U.S. meddling into the internal affairs of sovereign nations.

The internet has, for its part, been helpful in off-setting many attempts at media manipulation. Many incidents would never come to light if it were not for media watchdogs, bloggers and alternative media outlets. For this reason the U.S. has aggressively pursued anyone who does damage to its media manipulations or is too successful in getting out the truth. This was clear after 9-11 and the attacks on 9-11 truth sites and has been epitomized by the U.S. reaction to the efforts of Wikileaks.

The truth is something that criminals and tyrants fear. It is also something that can not be allowed when it interferes with geo-political plans for domination, resource wars, or the military takeover of the planet. We saw this on 9-11 when reputable experts, witnesses and even engineers were gagged by the hundreds, if not thousands, from telling the truth. We saw this in the invasion of Iraq, with yellowcake, WMDs and fake atrocities. We also saw this in the former Yugoslavia, with fake atrocities and the continuing media blackout in Serbia.

Unfortunately that is not all, we continue to see this in Syria and Iran, and other locations where the West has plans in place and the reality on the ground must be made to coincide with their scenarios, even if it means creating complete and total fabrications.

As the falsehoods continue so do the number of dead, this is most obvious in such places as Afghanistan, Syria, Bahrain and other “hot-spots”, even in Egypt, where the U.S. recently did a 180° about face and supported the Muslim Brotherhood.

Once again we see that for the U.S., the truth is a very inconvenient thing and if it does not please them, they will attempt to create their own.

One area where there is no room for rhetoric or for false attempts at being politically correct is the area of international adoptions and the welfare of the smallest and most defenseless individuals among us. We have seen this many times before in case after case of Russian orphans and adoptees suffering abuse and even death at the hands of their American adoptive parents.

Time and time again, in almost every aspect of Russian-Western relations, we have seen anti-Russian hysteria and pseudo-political correctness raise its ugly head. It is something that many are used to and something that more and more Westerners are beginning to notice.

Recently the Children’s Rights Ombudsman of the Russian Federation Pavel Astakhov and Russian Human Rights Envoy Konstantin Dolgov, attempted to visit a “ranch” for adopted children in remote northwestern Montana. The purpose of the visit was to check on the well-being of the reportedly 10 Russian adoptees that were at the ranch and who according to RIA-Novosti were removed shortly before Mr. Astakhov’s visit.

On his official website Mr. Astakhov, who has been diligently fighting for the rights of Russian children worldwide, stated the following: "The very fact of the children being there is shocking. What is it, a pre-trial detention facility? A penal colony? Or a trash can for unwanted children?"

"These children are completely isolated from the outside world, which is grounds for violating their rights. It has not been made clear to us whether the children receive the necessary help and treatment, which is why the condition of the Russian kids at the ranch causes concerns," Astakhov said.

Were the children from any other country these concerns would have been granted the level of respect they deserve, especially when the safety and welfare of children are at their core and everything would have been done to ensure that the issue was properly looked at. Sadly this did not occur.

Instead the pseudo politically correct machine that is the U.S. mass media began an onslaught, not on the ranch’s owner, one Joyce Sterkel, but on Mr. Astakhov and the group of Russian government officials that travelled with him.

The AP published a huge piece of more than three pages in length full of anti-Russian quotes by Sterkel, which are not worth repeating here, with almost nothing about the children or Mr. Astakhov’s concerns, even referring to the ombudsman as “one of them.” (ABCNews)

Six days later the AP published 7 sentences regarding the illegality of Ms. Sterkel’s ranch. Which has not had a license to operate since 2010, has been ordered closed and where inspectors have not been allowed. Other problems at the ranch include a failure to show the structures on the ranch meet the building code, no disaster plan and no background checks on employees.

Again nowhere are the stories about the children in question or regarding their well-being - for the U.S. media they are not even a side issue. It is as if they do not exist.

Sterkel has not only denied the Russian inspectors entry onto the so-called ranch but has also denied the Montana state board any information about the children at the ranch according to board attorney Mary Tapper.

Statements in the U.S. press regarding sovereignty, intrusion, and privacy rights have no place in a dialogue involving the safety and welfare of children, wherever they may be from. However the U.S. is a country where in many cases pseudo political correctness comes first and the rights and safety of children come second.

The Reverend Peter Mullen in his blog on the Mail Online put it well when describing the influence of political correctness on adoptions in the Western system: “The scandal is that our Mephistophelian “caring institutions” would rather a child be aborted than that the mother should give birth and so present them with all these tiresome pseudo-problems derived entirely from political correctness.”

Having lived in both Russia and the U.S. for decades I can honestly say that any Russian travelling to the U.S. would be shocked at the number of stories and cases of child abuse and atrocities against children that exist in the United States and that no one hears about in the filtered international U.S. media.

The U.S. culture of death, sex, violence, hypocrisy and perversion is often reflected on the horrors that children become the victims of. The record has shown with regard to Russian orphans that the controls that exist for other orphans are just not there and that many adoptive parents feel that because they somehow “rescued” the children from some “terrible” faraway place they can do whatever they want to the children with impunity.

As for Russia and I can say this honestly and with the insight of an educator, the respect for children is much higher than in the U.S. and the level of crimes and cases of inhumane acts against children are so much lower as to almost be non-existent if one compares them to the U.S.

In the better part of two decades here there have been less than a dozen high profile cases of crimes against children. Once again I can not help but compare the almost daily onslaught in the U.S. media of cases of child abuse, kidnappings, child murders and pedophilia.

Joyce Sterkel did not allow the Russian delegation to inspect the facility in question, nor has she provided the Board of Private Alternative Adolescent Residential and Outdoor Programs any information about the children. She also removed the children from the premises before Mr. Astakhov arrived. What is she so afraid might be discovered? And what is really going on at the isolated and remote Deep Springs Ranch for Kids?

The pseudo-politically-correct U.S. establishment may have a problem asking those questions, but I don’t, and for the sake of the children they must be answered.

Liberia, where men are supposed to be men and women are supposed to be women, on Friday held a vote on a constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage. All these same sex marriage debates were not only going on in the US - now Liberia and many African countries are also engaged in such discussion. The reasons are different however. Liberia does not have a huge homosexual community as does the US. There are not millions of LGBTs (meaning lesbian, gay, bisexuals and transgender people) engaged in lobbying their interests or making an in-your-face attempt to force the rest of the population to accept their lifestyles.

The reason this has become an issue in Africa is because the US and the UK have decided to tie US aid to rights issues involving LGBTs. This comes after Obama instructed US government officials to "ensure that US diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, and transgender persons," around the world.

Just for a contrast homosexuality is currently illegal in 37 African countries, with some countries even having life-sentences and the death penalty for homosexual behavior.

When giving his instructions Obama stated that; “…legal, moral, and financial support will be boosted for gay rights organizations, emergency assistance will be sent to groups or individuals facing threats, and asylum in the US will be offered to people forced to flee anti-gay persecution in their countries.”

In a recent speech, full of bravado but lacking real substance or detail, to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva instead of addressing the hundreds of US violations in the area of human rights she made a big show that the US protects gay rights, proclaiming that "gay rights are human rights". She also announced the implementation of U.S. government-wide policies to push for the decriminalization of homosexuality overseas and to ensure US foreign assistance promotes the protection of LGBT rights".

In Liberia, as with many African countries, this set off a firestorm of debate, protests and even made things worse for the “LGBTs” who were in most cases quietly tolerated. These moves by the West, another attempt at imposing their will and bankrupt morality on the peoples of other countries, have caused Obama’s popularity and the level of widespread idolization of the US to fall considerably in much of Africa.

Since Clinton’s remarks many newspapers in Liberia have described homosexuality as "desecrating", "abusive" and an "abomination". Those remarks, coupled with a group of US backed activists, the Movement for the Defense of Gay and Lesbian Rights, who began activities to legalize same sex marriage, led to the constitutional debate.

According to an article by the AFP, up until now in Liberia, although “voluntary sodomy” has been considered a criminal offence, the question of gay marriage had not been expressly addressed in law. Well, it has now.

The Senate of Liberia on Friday voted unanimously to pass a constitutional amendment, under section 2.3 of the Liberian constitution which covers polygamy and incestuous relationships.

The president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was forced to defend her country and in an interview with the U.K.’s Guardian in March she stated: "We like ourselves the way we are. We've got certain traditional values in our society that we would like to preserve."

Sirleaf recently won the Nobel peace prize for her work in advancing women's rights.

In the above interview with the Guardian, which Sirleaf gave jointly with Tony Blair, Blair, sitting beside the composed and quiet Sirleaf, looked furious and uncomfortable in the extreme, behaving as if Liberia did not have the right to make its own internal decisions. Maybe understandably as Blair was a champion for the “LGBTs”, among his achievements lowering the age of consent for gay sex to 16.

I know I might be accused of being harsh to those with sexual identification issues, but homosexuality is a psychological and some say physiological disorder stemming from earlier childhood development issues, trauma, and a hundred other sociological and familial disorders, which causes pain and suffering for those who suffer from it. These people should be helped and the root causes identified.

Same sex marriage, what exactly does that mean? You can be politically correct and call it homosexuality or alternative sexual preferences or even untraditional orientation, but many countries and people’s view this as an abomination and a deviation from accepted norms.

Maybe I am wrong here but a country, such as the U.K. which now allows old men to have sex with boys as young as 16, and another where men are being allowed to marry men, should not be dictating to the world how it should conduct itself.

Perhaps Sirleaf should be dictating policy to Obama and Blair, she has, after all won a real Nobel Prize and perhaps the US needs to look at the roots of the problem and find a way to help those suffering from sexual disorders, instead of trying to get the world to accept it.

On Friday the Khamovnichesky court in Moscow extended the pre-trial detention of three members of the group Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich, until January 12, 2013 with their preliminary hearing to continue on Monday July 23.

The three members were part of a group of four who entered the holiest church for followers of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Christ the Savior Cathedral on February 21, 2012, and from a sacred area where only ordained priests are allowed to be present, proceeded to sing an anti-Putin song disguised as a church hymn, filled with obscene language and making a mockery of the entire Christian faith.

Their action coincided with other staged and carefully organized anti-Putin provocations which were taking place before the past presidential elections, and like almost all of the other “opposition” groups and individuals, their only goal was to foment hatred towards and do everything possible to damage the popularity of then presidential candidate Vladimir Putin.

The majority of Russians hold the view that the group went way too far in their activities with most people of the opinion that their actions were everything from an act of sheer brainlessness to a carefully planned insult to the Orthodox Church, the Russian people and the Russian state.

This was evident at Friday’s hearing where more people in protest of the group showed up outside the court to protest what many of them see as an attack on morality, family values and their faith.

Supporters of the group, strangely enough, appeared outside the court at the time the women were exercising their constitutional right to defend themselves before the court, holding signs asking for mercy from the same church that those in custody had blasphemed.

Although the women had already been in custody for four months their behavior in front of the court in no way showed remorse for what they had done, nor did the statements and actions of their lawyers who filed almost a dozen briefs and then blamed the court for not being able to deal with all of them in one sitting.

The women were all smiles and as in evident by witness statements, news reports, and video and still footage, they behaved as if the whole thing were a big joke, smiling and looking glib and not showing even the slightest hint of remorse.

Their lawyers told the press, and I am paraphrasing, that the whole process was a circus. Strange when they are demanding the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill I appear in court as witnesses, although neither was even present or connected with the foolish stunt in anyway.

Sadly, as can now be expected, the Western media and even Amnesty International have jumped on the bandwagon and are portraying the women as innocent victims of evil machinations. The latter saying on Friday that;”…it considers the three women to be prisoners of conscience detained solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs."

Had the event taken place at the Evergreen Chapel located in Camp David where U.S. President Obama prays or in the Holy See or from behind the pulpit where the Pope addresses Catholic believers, would they be so quick to defend those guilty of such an act of desecration? Even those at war with the West do not dare to, or have enough taste not to, blaspheme the holy places of the people. Why should this event be deemed as somehow being acceptable and a peaceful expression of beliefs when it occurred in Russia?

As more Russians begin to understand the resonance that is being caused by what these women did, the crowds outside the court will no doubt grow larger and the views of those who have been largely quiet will begin to be heard, not in support of these women, but against the affront to all Russians.

The numbers say it better than anything; on average 97,820 people are shot every year and approximately 268 every day. That is a huge number of people, individuals with families, dreams, hopes and lives. You may think these numbers come from a country at war, Iraq or Afghanistan, or some violent country in upheaval like Libya, Somalia or the Middle-East, yet these numbers according to the site bradycampaign.org, are the average numbers for victims of gun violence in the U.S.

The world is focused once again on a mass murder in the United States, this time the recent mass shooting in Aurora Colorado, an upscale community in the Denver Metropolitan Area, where a benign harmless looking young man with orange hair dressed in full body armor opened fire on a crowd gathered for a midnight showing of the latest celebration of violence being offered by Hollywood.

When he was done unloading four weapons full of ammunition into the crowd he had taken the lives of 12 people and injured another 58, a total of 70, making it the mass shooting with the greatest number of victims in U.S. history. Had his Smith and Wesson semi-automatic rifle with a 100 round drum magazine not jammed the number would have been undoubtedly much higher.

What may be surprising for some is that James Eagan Holmes had no previous criminal record and had legally purchased all of the guns he used from local guns shops and the almost 6,000 rounds of ammunition in his possession on-line. He did so with an ease that has many people all over the world shaking their heads in disbelief.

Again some numbers, according to the New York Times the US has 49,762 licensed gun dealers and 7,261 pawn shops that are allowed to sell weapons. This does not include department stores and sport shops, in some states, where rifles may be bought over the counter nor those sold by individuals. The point being that guns are a huge business and readily available if one wishes to purchase one.

This latest tragedy, the 60th mass shooting in the United States since January 8, 2011, when a lone gunman killed 6 and injured 13, including a U.S. Congressman, has once again sparked a debate in American society regarding gun control. A country where such jokes as, “the only problem with gun control is keeping your hands from trembling” are common, and more the rule than the exception, and where the pro-gun lobby is one of the most powerful in the country.

To enter into any debate regarding gun control in America we must first delve into the psyche and the culture of violence that exists in America, for this is where the real problem lies. It is not in 2nd amendment rights to bear arms or self-defense or crime, although these are issues the pro-gun lobby in the U.S. always hides behind. The real root cause is in the minds of the majority of the American public, who may feel that a gun gives them a feeling of empowerment, the power over life and death, the feeling that if they want to they can take a life. Something they see glorified in the media every day.

The Departed, Hardboiled, Hot Shots, The Replacement Killers, Heat, The Gauntlet and The Crow are all Hollywood films that vie for the glory of the most shots fired during a single film. Most Americans call this trivia but there is an underlying fascination and feeling of awe for such information. Films such as these only stoke the flames of violence and glorify killing and guns.

This fascination with killing is also evident every time there is a mass murder and the American media goes into overdrive, feeding the masses information about the type and caliber of weapon used and the number of rounds fired and in what duration. Then there are the endless talk shows and articles delving into the mind of the killer(s) and lastly, in many cases, the great pleasure and satisfaction many feel when the killer, who deserves to die, is executed .

The debate on gun control flares up after every such event, yet there is no outcry to outlaw guns, because as many Americans love to say, “If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.” Yet no one really wants to look at the causes that lead such individuals to snap and, in their minds, gain their moment of glory and attention. No one wants to debate the culture and glorification of death and violence that is an engrained part of the American psyche, because if they do then they have to take a long hard look at themselves.

The situation in America is a vicious circle of violence feeding itself and escalating as time goes by. U.S. law enforcement has become militarized with many police departments at a seeming “state of war” against the population they are supposed to protect. Why? Because every single person they may encounter during their workday may be packing, everyone from a 12 year old to an 89 year-old grandmother. But do they outlaw guns? No.

Laws covering gun possession and sales vary from state to state but for all intents and purposes almost anyone can buy a gun. If you can’t buy one from a gun shop, then in some states you can buy one in the hunting department of the local department store, in some areas the purchase of rifles does not require a waiting period or a background check. If that doesn’t work then you can go into the bad part of town and buy one from a pawn shop, a petty thief or a drug dealer if you spend a little time looking.

Sure owning a gun might make us feel safer but there are alternatives that are less lethal and just as effective. If the argument is about self defense, there are stun guns, tasers, tear gas and a variety of other options ideal for home or self-defense. Why would anyone need, for example, a 50 caliber Gatling gun to protect themselves and their family?

Countries all over the world, including Russia, need to take a long hard look at America before they even start to consider relaxing laws covering gun ownership and sales. Guns are designed for one thing, to kill people. Is this an ability we want everyone to have?

One of my favorite quotes by Albert Einstein, I think is very relevant: “Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding." Perhaps it is time to lay down your arms America?

What has happened in many of the countries that have been hit by the Arab Spring, and this was recently painfully obvious in Egypt, is the coming to power of radical and extremist Islamic elements that had less power or existed only on the fringes before the uprisings in their respective countries.

Expert after expert, time and time again, have stated that the results of the Arab Spring are going to be widespread long-lasting and difficult if not impossible to undo. The U.S. was warned many times that what they were unleashing was not going to go the way of their pie-in-the-sky scenarios but nevertheless they continue to push for regime changes which we have seen have only caused more bloodshed and suffering and not the quick implementation of reforms and the appearance of democratic governments.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest Muslim organization in the world, is an example of one such group which had been banned in Egypt, and whose original goal was to bring about Sharia Law and Islamize society. Although their extremist and violent nature have been toned down many experts are worried that their claims and actions which appear to adhere to democratic principles are merely tactical and a way for them to obtain real power.

The Muslim Brotherhood had promised not to front a presidential candidate in Egypt but we have seen that was a lie. What other lies they have presented to garner the trust of the people are yet to be seen but if they went back on one promise they are sure to go back on others.

The Muslim Brotherhood has a long and violent history including bombings, assassinations and attempts at overthrowing governments. It was also a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb, who laid down the intellectual and theological justifications for the use of jihad, that inspired the leaders and founders of many of the modern day radical, militant and terrorist Islamic groups, such as Al Qaeda.

Tunisia, where Mohamed Bouazizi, the poor street grocer set himself on fire, the event that sparked the Arab Spring, appears may be another failure for the West, even though they claim success there. Laws prohibiting alcohol consumption and forcing women to wear traditional Muslim dress which did not exist before the Arab Spring are beginning to appear in the country.

According to Alon Ben Meir, a New York University based Middle East expert, in an interview with the Voice of Russia: “…without solid economic and other reforms, there is no chance that these countries will be able to develop democratic systems and as long as there is poverty and lack of freedom the radical Islamist elements will be able to recruit more and more of the population and gain power.”

Libya is another complete failure as the country has deteriorated into one where militias fight one another for control of cities and regions and there is still no real rule of law. Many international organizations have complained about the proliferation of weapons in the country and announcements by Islamists that they will be taking part in elections. These are just a couple of reasons for concern.

The opinion of Ben Meir was echoed by Claude Moniquet an expert in the field of regional conflicts and terrorism and the director of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, in a recently published book the Arab Spring, an Unhealthy Spring: “… democracy must include respect for the rights of women, youth, labor, and the right to freedom of expression. When that is all there, you can proceed to the election process. To do the opposite - it's like to start building a house from the roof down.”

In other words, you can not just overthrow a regime and have nothing to replace it with and you can not build democracy without a foundation, this is clear in all of the Arab Spring countries and elsewhere such as Iraq.

Bahrain is another complete failure for the West, as they support and supported the regime. It was an unpleasant surprise for Washington that the uprisings spread to Bahrain. How can they claim to support Democracy and human rights and all of the other talking points and catch phrases when they are in support of a brutal regime because it supports the U.S. military complex?

Then we have Syria, which some experts say became the battleground for Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and where it appears the days of Bashar Assad are numbered. With questions as to his whereabouts, high-level defections, the continued arming of rebel groups by the West and a security apparatus that is growing more and more difficult to control, the political elite and those in power are beginning to question their own survival, and when they go, the country goes.

What awaits Syria after Assad? A fair and just society? A Western style democracy? Safety and security for the citizens? Not likely.

Will there ever be real “democracy” in the region without a basis on which it is to be built? It looks seriously doubtful.

Both marginal protest groups - Femen and Pussy Riot - have several things in common: they are both women groups, anti-Russian, use vulgarity and anti-social behavior to shock as many people as possible, have no clear agenda and offer no alternative policies and they both seem to exist for one purpose, that being to attempt to shame and disgrace Russia and its leaders.

As it is already well known, on Thursday his Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill I arrived in Kiev, Ukraine where he is to stay for three days to mark the 20th anniversary of the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev. The Patriarch’s arrival in Ukraine was momentarily marred by yet another provocation against the Russian Orthodox Church, when Yana Zhdanova, a member of a Ukrainian group calling themselves Femen, rushed the Patriarch as if to attack him, shouting “Get out! Get out!”. She was intercepted within meters of Patriarch Kirill by a priest, body guards and members of the security detail, who within seconds surrounded his Holiness and escorted the screaming woman away.

The attack appears to have been carefully planned and designed to get maximum press attention, as his arrival would be the moment when he would be in the limelight the most. The words “Kill Kirill” were carefully written in large letters on the woman’s bare back in English. To me this was a curious detail no one has really noticed but which makes it clear the act of provocation was choreographed for the Western media. Had it been aimed at Russia or Ukraine the words would have been obviously written in the language of either country. It is also clear she did not act alone.

The Femen women protest group famous for its radical exhibitionism first appeared in 2008. WikiPedia claims that they are receiving the financial support from the American businessmen Jed Sunden. The group also organized a protest action in front of the Christ The Savior Cathedral in December 2011.

Femen also posted a statement on the Internet accusing the Patriarch of encouraging the detention of activists, an obvious reference to members of another provocation group Pussy Riot which on February 21, 2012 desecrated the Christ the Savior Cathedral and are currently detained in Russia.

Some say Femen aims to advance women’s rights but I think the “women’s libbers” of the 60s would not support their tactics, if you are as old as I am, or older you may recall how those “feminists” threw away their bras, high-heels and cosmetics because they were “womanizing” objects and dressed in a sever fashion, yet these women choose to wear sexy lingerie and run around top-less in a bid for attention.

If these two groups really have a coherent agenda we can sympathize with, such as women’s rights, freedom of expression or eliminating prostitution, then I am afraid their message is not getting through. What is getting through is the fact that they have absolutely no respect for any kind of authority and that their tactics are vulgar and socially unacceptable. How they behave is always the focus, not why they are doing what they do, that is assuming they really do have a message and are not just out to insult and provoke Russians and the Orthodox Church.

This time the reaction from the West is a bit more subdued, compared to all of the Pussy Riot hoopla. However, many in the Western press are still attempting to show this in a way which plays down the vulgarity of the display. Had anyone rushed the Pope with Kill the Pope written on their back, well you know what the reaction to that would have been.

Another curious thing concerning both groups is the lack of transparency they possess when it comes to who backs them financially. This is very important because when you want to know what an organization is really about you have to look at who is financing them. Several web searches only revealed the names of a German individual called DJ Hell, one Helmut Josef Geier and Jed Sunden, an American ex-pat living in Ukraine who is the publisher of the English language Kiev Post, as financial backers for Femen. No information on the shadowy backers of Pussy Riot is currently available.

Jed Sunden, a pro-Western American with a history of meddling in the internal affairs of Ukraine, a man who called Lenin statues: “… a disgusting sight Ukraine should be ashamed of….” and was declared persona non grata in Ukraine, might be a good indication of who is behind these groups. If they are being financed by the West, then this would explain many things, among them the level of arrogance and boldness and lack of coherent message they both possess. They also appear to exist for one reason, to provoke Russia.

On July 28, Patriarch Kirill will take part in commemoration ceremonies to mark the day of the Enlightenment of Rus’, a national holiday in commemoration of the anniversary of Kyiv’s baptism and of Saint Volodymyr. After the service, the primate will lay flowers by the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Hopefully the likes of Pussy Riot and Femen will have the good taste to not attempt to mark the events with yet another vulgar, pointless and silly display of their own foolishness.

How about it girls? Maybe you should all write a coherent argument in the form of a treatise (not striptease), or an essay and distribute it to the masses (after all you do have a publisher as a backer). Here’s another idea: gather a million signatures in support of some change in policy. That is what real activists do. And please keep the vulgarity to yourselves and for crying out loud, keep your shirts on, your message (if you have one) is being ignored and overshadowed by your public nudity and anti-social behavior. Or could it be you have no message?

The Western media is full of inaccuracies and biased reporting regarding Russia. In an attempt to counter such information, we will be publishing and countering examples of this on a weekly basis. If you see something in the press and you think it might sound fishy, please let us know and we will include your name in the material.

Even in this day and age of instant messaging, world-wide-web and hand-held wireless communication devices capable of sending and receiving information to and from anywhere in the world, there still exists a huge divide between reality and what is presented as fact in the information and the news that is being broadcast around the world. This is painfully obvious when it comes to information about Russia in the Western Press.

During the past week there have been several topics concerning Russia in the news which have not been entirely un-biased. The main one being the situation in and around Syria, of which the coverage is more often than not skewed in favor of the West’s views and plans for the region. This includes claims that Russia was providing offensive weapons to kill protestors, delivering attack helicopters and the like. All claims were later found to be untrue, yet the West keeps putting them forth.

Russia has, since day one of the internal upheavals in Syria, promoted an internal peaceful resolution to the Syrian conflict and has made many attempts to bring the opposing sides to the negotiating table.

According to Prime Minister Medvedev in the transcript of an interview he gave to the Times newspaper in London, the differences between the Russian stance and the Western one are much less than the world’s media have made out.

Russia has also been a staunch defender of respect for the sovereignty of Syria, something which the West has vilified as many see it as acceptable that certain powers in the West constantly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

According to Russia’s Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, “By supporting radical Islamists, the USA aims at impose control over the entire region and points the edge of an extremist dagger at Russia…” and “While making grandiloquent statements about democracy and human rights, the West has been waging naked aggression against Syria.” Also, “The West – that declares war on international terrorists, such as the CIA’s brainchild Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brothers – in fact actively cooperates with them. It is with their help that the undeclared war on Syria is waged today.” Of course these issues have, for the most part, been ignored by the Western media, although any cooperation between the US government and Al-Qaeda should be something that would be scandalous for the American public.

Russia (or the USSR – even worse in their opinion) is also the country of choice by right-wing American commentators and pundits and many politicians when they give example of “evil” countries. For example, on June 29 Rush Limbaugh compared the reporting of job forecasts in the media to Soviet media reporting on wheat production. Why the comparison? Because it is convenient to bad mouth Russia to scare people into supporting some irrational or baseless position in an argument.

Another good example of this was on the June 29 edition of Fox and friends, another in a long chain of Murdoch-owned operations. Co-host Stephen James Doocy asked the question, while speaking about healthcare, “What is this, Russia?” First off, why is affordable healthcare such an evil thing for America’s far right? Second, the Russian Federation has universal healthcare for everyone, including Doocy if he were to become ill here, and people can buy supplemental policies if they want. Nothing evil at all there.

The coverage of the Pussy Riot trial is also another area where the divide is great. For most of the West and the Western media, these are people exercising their freedom of speech. For many in Russia, these are people who went way too far and unjustifiably desecrated the Church. For instance, Western reports are full of claims of large crowds of supporters while balanced news sources and most Russian media report of crowds opposed to these women.

South Ossetia Fourth Anniversary of Georgian Invasion: Militia Trained Under Special Plan

Today August 8, 2012 is the 4 year anniversary of the Invasion of South Ossetia by Georgian Forces and memorial events are being held in the country and in the capital of Tskhinval. While Mikhail Saakashvili continues to make warlike statements towards Russia, our country is remembering the dead. Today Putin made some revelations about the conflict and Russia’s relations with South Ossetia.

According to the Interfax News Agency one of the events to mark the occasion is an exhibition of paintings that had been damaged by Georgian shells and bullets and were placed on display in Tskhinval on Theater Square in the center of the city. The Exhibition is titled "War Through Paintings' Eyes" and features canvasses painted by prominent South Ossetian artists. The tragically damaged paintings symbolize the tragedy and sadness of those days.

Even before Georgia invaded the South Ossetia, the Russian Federation and the government of South Ossetia were working together in an attempt to prepare the South Ossetian militia in case Georgia decided to make an incursion into the country.

The plan was developed by the Army between 2006 and 2007 with the direct participation of Vladimir Putin who when asked about the plan after holding talks with Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday, told Interfax: "It isn't a secret. There was a plan in place and we were guided by it. It was developed by the General Staff in late 2006 - early 2007, and it was negotiated with me. We trained South Ossetian militia under this plan."

President Putin also stated the following: "Although our experts argued that training South Ossetian militia was a hopeless thing, as militia would be weaker than a regular army, even Georgian, it proved more than effective."

So despite the fact that the forces of South Ossetia were far weaker and far smaller they were trained well enough to mount a noticeable and effective resistance, alongside Russian peacekeepers, against the Georgian aggressors until the Russian Army was able to arrive in the country and drive the Georgian aggressors out of the republic that they had invaded almost three days later.

President Putin said that the experts had been mistaken and that: “These people (self-defense) proved more than necessary and they courageously defended their motherland, and jointly with the Russian peacekeepers offered resistance to an onslaught of Georgian military formations for three days until the Russian army came.”

When asked about his involvement during the invasion when he had been in Beijing China, President Putin said that he had called Dmitry Medvedev and the defense minister twice, on August 7th and 8th.

The tragic events were as follows: before midnight on August 7, Tskhinval and nearby villages were attacked by the Georgian Army who used missile and artillery fire and air strikes on the civilian population of the villages. This included the villages of Khetagurovo, Dmenis, Pris, Sarabuk, Satikar, Mugut, Didmukha, Galuanta and others.

In the morning of August 8, Georgian tanks attacked the southern outskirts of Tskhinval including the barracks housing Russian peacekeepers. The city’s defenders and Russian peacekeepers started fighting back with fierce street fighting continuing throughout the day.

Russia’s leaders decided to force the Georgian aggressors to peace and units of the Russian Army entered the republic. Tskhinval was freed in two days and the Georgian troops were forced far back into their territory.

ITAR-TASS reports that: the Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia, Elbrus Kargiyev, has pledged that the aggression will not recur, and that the Russian Federation is the guarantor of security of the republic’s population. “Today we mourn, remember and grieve over the untimely deaths of women, children, old people, the wonderful young men of Tskhinval, patriots of their country and, certainly, the Russian peacekeepers. But there is also a reason for joy - South Ossetia has got the opportunity to live a peaceful life and develop. As Russia’s representative I guarantee that that the children of South Ossetia will never see the horrors of war. The guarantors of this are the Russian Federation and its political leadership, the leaders of our country and the structures, diplomatic and military, that at the invitation of the republic’s leadership and with the will of the Ossetian people have settled in South Ossetia.”

Meanwhile the Tbilisi continues to terrorize the citizenry of the Republic of Abkhazia and stoke the fires of anti-Russian hysteria in the country.

In an interview with RIA-Novosti Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said that the current situation along the border between Georgia and the Republic of Abkhazia is alarming.

Mr. Karasin stated that Georgian Special Forces regularly penetrate into the Gali District and “persistently terrorize the local population.” The diplomat stated that this shows that Georgia is still planning revenge scenarios in the region and that hysteria about Russia’s planned Caucasus 2012 military exercises has been going on for approximately a year. He said there is widespread hysteria about unspecified plans by Russia to destroy Georgian statehood and called such talk part of Georgia’s “propagandistic delirium.”

On Tuesday, senior military official General Postnikov told ITAR-TASS that "Our exercise has nothing to do with events in other countries, including in Georgia. However, in order to rule out any possibility of speculations on that issue, our military bases in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and even in Armenia will not participate in the Kavkaz-2012 exercise."

According to Mr. Karasin speaking about Georgia’s unhinged leader, the international community is used to President Mikhail Saakashvili’s lack of restraint: the Georgian leader makes warlike statements all the time. Accusations should be viewed appropriately and take into consideration the “emotionality and provocative nature of the Georgian leadership’s intentions.”

Romney’s Sikhs vs Sheikhs: A Racist “Mistake”, Playing to His Racist “Base”

It is almost impossible for any thinking and rational person to believe that a man with an accumulated wealth of over $200 million dollars would be able out of ignorance or simple tiredness, to make so many gaffes, blunders and insult so many people as Mitt Romney has done lately.

When we look further are we to believe that the rich, powerful and supposedly educated Romney can be so incredibly stupid to mistake “Sheiks” and “Sikhs”. Okay things happen, but right on the heels of the event, it is hard to imagine even from a man who once forgot his dog on the roof of his car and took off down the highway. Romney committed such a slip-of-the-tongue when apparently expressing his condolences to those affected by the recent killing of members of the Sikh faithful in Oak Creek Wisconsin.

I say “apparently” expressing condolences because he was not addressing any member of the Sikh community at the time and because I am not an apologist for Mr. Romney if you think I am coming down too hard on him, think again. Yes “apparently” because he was speaking to his supporters in Iowa, his “base”.

During his speech he made the “mistake” several times, he called their place of worship a "Temple of the Sheik’s" and even added that "The Sheik people, as well as their religion, are one of the most peaceful."

This is a man who knows exactly what he is doing and all of his “mistakes” and “gaffes”, I believe, are carefully planned and orchestrated to play to his “base”, who I will get to in a minute. Such a callous and insulting “error” has no real place in the public debate and were it not in the context of a presidential election it would in no way be so easily brushed aside, at least by many.

As for the “Sheik” gaffe a spokesman for the Republican, Rick Hill, explained that the politician was just tired and incorrectly used words that are similar in pronunciation. “Incorrectly used similar words”, nice, if you are a red-neck driving a pick-up. Which is exactly the type of person, in all likelihood, who Romney is playing to, because you see, in American politics, and in particular Republican politics, the uneducated, racist, and xenophobic poor white class of voter is one of their most important assets.

Call them NASCAR folks, the working class, those down-home-folks, “real” Americans, “good” Christians, the good-ole-boys or what have you, the fact of the matter is that these are the kind of people that are so numerous in the United States that their votes put people like George Bush into the White House, not once, but twice, and for Romney these are the people who matter.

I am not an apologist for these people but I am sure there are a few of them who do know the difference between a “Sheikh” and a “Sikh” and a “Muslim” and a “Sikh” and an “Iranian” and a “Puerto Rican”, the last one I added because my father had to defend our family from attack by U.S. racists in 1979, who wanted to kill us because they thought we were Iranian, and after 9-11 many members of my family were harassed by police and beaten in the United States because they were brown and could have been Muslims.

These are people who would kill or attack even Russians and other members of the white race group just for being different. I should underline that Arabs and even Iranians are classified by the U.S. government as white.

The same people who sympathize with the Wisconsin shooter, hate anything foreign, believe insulting heads of state and members of the international community is a virtue and shows guts and strength, and view ignorance as a virtue, meaning he is a “regular” guy and “one of us”. Truly frightening when a man in the position they are going to put Romney into can start WWIII.

After Romney’s recent “gaffe filled foreign trip” where he and his entourage managed to insult almost everyone they came in contact with Romney strategist Stuart Stevens said that the trip was “a great success, generally." I am sure it was, if we are talking about scoring points and pleasing ignorant xenophobic members of the American electorate.

Going back to the “Sheikh” blunder, coming on the heels of the event it was either a completely and unbelievably stupid error (and I have already said that this is not something I believe) or it was something much darker and sinister indeed.

When we look at the fact that many of these white supremacists and neo-Nazis are so ignorant that they would confuse a Sikh with a Muslim and even the shooter in Wisconsin was so filled with xenophobic hate that he ended his own life in what may have been a complete failure to his own twisted ends, and we see a candidate for the position of what many call “The Leader of the Free World” making the exact same error, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Yet he may well become the next president of the United States, and sadly for the world, this will lead to more death and destruction and quite possibly WWIII, unless Romney is just pretending.

On his recent visit to Poland, Israel, and London he managed to offend almost everyone. Romney called Jerusalem capital of Israel, he insulted the Palestinians, who many of the aforementioned base see as just more Muslim “rag-heads”, he insulted the British, who many in his base see as “elitist” and “tea-drinkers”, and he insulted the Polish, who many of the ignorant see as “stupid” and are called “Pollacks” (an American epithet for Polish people).

So if the world was shocked by Romney’s gaffes, don’t worry, or worry, as the case may be, he was just playing to his “base”.

Here is this week's installment regarding media bias in the Western media. Today we will look at not the outright lies or twisting of facts but the much more subtle art of semantics, connotation, context and choice of words. In this article we also published readers' emails who spotted more examples of the media-bias.

The first article that caught my eye this week was one by Time Magazine, a publication I used to enjoy reading. The article was by Simon Shuster and right from the start it is clear that it is biased and follows the vilify-Russia-any-chance-you-get editorial policy prevalent in the West. The article in question is titled: Russia’s Pussy Riot Trial: A Kangaroo Court Goes on a Witch Hunt.

Starting the headline with “Russia’s” instantly shows it is something “foreign” to the American reader and not “ours”. His choice of words depicting the judicial process as “A Kangaroo Court” is another carefully chosen insult to the entire Russian judicial system and plays loose with the term Kangaroo Court, which is an unofficial or mock court set up spontaneously to deliver a predetermined verdict.

Clearly Mr. Shuster knows very little about the Judiciary of the Russian Federation and also the term Kangaroo Court as the term does not really apply here at all. There was nothing spontaneous or preplanned in the court nor in its hearing of the case, with its months of filing, the hearing of arguments and all of the processes that take place in a court of law.

The term “Witch Hunt” also does not apply but Mr. Shuster does not really care about the facts or accuracy when choosing to deride Russia. A “witch-hunt” is a term that implies a widespread systematic campaign against wrong-doers or those who hold different views. To characterize the Pussy Riot case as a witch hunt is an incredible distortion of the facts. These women spent months, jumping on trolley-busses, climbing the interiors of metro stations, performing in places they were not supposed to including the Red Square and then defiled the most sacred area of the most sacred church of the Russian Orthodox Church. A witch hunt? They were provoking a reaction and like the fabled Russian Bear, slow to anger and slow to rise, they finally got their smirking selves arrested.

Mr. Shuster opens his “article” by asking: “Is the ongoing trial of three Russian feminist punk rockers in Moscow a sign of a new tyrannical streak defining the rule of President Vladimir Putin?” To which I will answer, NO Mr. Shuster, it is a sign of the new and transparent nature of the Russian judiciary and is a testament to the patience and wisdom of President Putin and Patriarch Kirill and Russian Society as a whole. Maybe Mr. Shuster will answer a question I have asked human rights “defenders” and others in the West who support this group. What would have happened if a group staged a similar act, attacking the president, in the Church at Camp David where Obama worships, or in the Vatican? Are we to believe if someone blasphemed the Catholic Church would a country with “In God We Trust” written on their money, have done absolutely nothing? I doubt it Mr. Shuster.

A country that brutally arrests people for silently dancing at memorials (HuffingtonPost) would probably execute someone for barging into Obama’s church during a service and while making a mockery of a hymn, proceed to scream vulgarities and epithet’s at the leader of the country.

The rest of the piece continues by citing questionable percentages, and quoting those in collusion as well as reporting the facts through an anti-Russia prism.

Mr. Shuster attacks the fact that President Putin saved the country in the 90’s, a fact for which we are all grateful, he makes it a point that Mr. Putin received the blessing of the church, something U.S. leaders also receive when visiting the Pope. He also uses so many generalizations and ambiguous phrases and quotes only those who support the group making his piece completely unbalanced.

Another case of twisting the truth and stretching the meanings of words comes from CNN’s Christiane Amanpour (Amanpour.Blogs.CNN.com) and a supposed “expert”, one Dimity Simes, who cited unknown and unnamed Russian “officials” who he claims said Russia would not resist a military intervention in Syria and this intervention would not become a major issue in the U.S.- Russian relationship. If such “officials” made such “official” statements regarding the position of Russia on Syria it would be scandalous as this runs counter to everything Official Moscow has been saying for years.

The so-called-expert also claims, like many in the West love to do, to understand President Vladimir Putin’s psychology, something CNN calls a “fascinating insight”, he stated “If you understand Putin’s psychology, the last thing you want to do is to put him publicly in the corner if you want his cooperation.” I wonder how he understands the “psychology” of President Putin as he is neither a psychologist nor has ever met the President.

Security Services, Society, Templar Knights and Even nazi Filth Blasphemed by Breivik

Up until the cold-blooded-mass-killings by white supremacist home-grown terrorist Anders Breivik, Norway had been seen as one of the safest nations on earth. The double attack left not only Norway but the world, stunned and in search of answers as to how this could have happened. The Breivik case took a new twist yesterday when a statement came allegedly from the “Knights of Templar”, demanding to set him free.

Norway has been forced to take a cold hard look at itself and in a 482 page report submitted to Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg on the failures that allowed the madman to bomb government buildings and run rampant executing youth for hours, has drawn rational and practical solutions and placed blame on the key areas of security that failed in Norway.

According to the Jerusalem Post the report found that the authorities were aware of the activities of Breivik months before the attacks when he purchased huge quantities of materials, including liquid fertilizer, that could be used to make bombs but he was never placed on a watch list by the security services.

"The attack on the government complex on July 22 could have been prevented through effective implementation of already adopted security measures," said the report. Apart from the aforementioned another key finding was that the government building that was attacked was not sufficiently fortified and had been identified as a security risk years earlier but was never properly brought up to standards.

As security services and police the world over know, if preventative measures fail, then response time is of utmost importance in extreme situations. According to the report key responses and measures failed miserably, and these failures, for the most part were in the command structure. Norway has world-class-highly-trained response personnel but they were not deployed effectively, this included the military not being informed and emergency procedures not being implemented. First responders did not even have a description of Breivik until 20 minutes after the first attack, which could have been used to stop him before he reached Utoya Island.

The most critical failure occurred when authorities were already aware of the massacre taking place on Utoya Island and wasted critical time which allowed Breivik to gun down the youth on the island for an hour and fifteen minutes. According to the Jerusalem Post apparently a helicopter could not be found and the boat they were supposed to use was not able to sustain the load of the officers responding to the attack.

Although part of the blame lies with the authorities a large part of it has to lie with society and its inability to comprehend the viciousness and insanity of predators like this and be prepared to deal with them. Yes, sadly part of the blame lies with peace loving people who are not prepared for the monstrosities that some men are capable of. We saw this with Hitler, we saw this on 9-11, we have seen this with Breivik.

For countries like Russia, the United States, Israel, and the U.K., just to list a few, society and the authorities are ready, prepared and experienced in dealing with these sorts of attacks, unfortunately for Norway it was a wake up call from Breivik, who mercilessly took advantage of weaknesses in the security architecture of the country.

As the government of Norway and the world continue the debate on security, the inhumanity and unrepentant nature of Breivik and his brethren continues to make a mockery of the civilized world with a statement allegedly from the supposed “Knights of Templar” an organization that Breivik claimed to be a member of but which has no connection to the real order of the Knights of Templar and an organization that forensic criminologists involved in the Breivik case doubt actually exists.

The e-mail demands that Breivik be found innocent and his actions be found to have been necessary in waging the war they are involved in. The writer calls Breivik “their commander” and vows to destroy the upper echelon of Norwegian society if his demands to free Breivik are not met.

The e-mail was sent to recipients all over the country on Monday after the release of the report mentioned above and has prompted an investigation of the purported “Second in command of the Knights Templar Norway” by the Police Security Service of Norway or PST. In the e-mail the writer claims to be the “deputy commander” of a cell of the organization in Norway and also issues a warning to all advocates of multiculturalism.

I agree with what Jay Rubenstein, a blogger at the Huffington Post, wrote: “As a historian, I do recognize in him (Breivik) a peculiarly Western Christian transgression, one as old as Philip the Fair: projecting vile, sick and paranoid dreams onto the Knights Templar -- distorting what was originally, in fact, a warped vision of Christian virtue and using it as justification for bringing dark fantasies to life.”

The Templar Knights were, what many believe, an honorable noble organization which was even tasked with protecting Jews and is another organization used by hate groups to justify their own sick hate of others. Like the Ku Klux Klan, who claim to be “Christian Knights” Breivik’s delusional belief system has blasphemed the Christian Faith. The Templar Knights fought for the defenseless, I seriously doubt they would have supported a madman who cold-bloodedly gunned down children in a twisted insane quest to cleanse ethnic blood.

The blond monster who killed 77 human beings in cold blood in Norway a year ago is about to be sentenced. Many people believe Anders Behring Breivik, who took the lives of people with families, friends and futures must be executed. But there’s no capital punishment in Norway and the predator of innocents will either get 21 years in prison or end up in his own psychiatric ward. In both cases the mass-muderer will continue his earthly existence.

Breivik is being treated well, he has a three room suite, with an exercise room, a bed room and an “office” with a computer he uses to prepare for his case and answer “fan” mail, and where he will be returning if he is found to be sane. If he is found to be insane an entire private hospital wing will be built for him and he will have his own staff of 17 people to take care of him night and day.

The world’s eyes will be on the small court in Oslo, Norway tomorrow as the verdict is read on the case of right-wing extremist and admitted mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik.

With his remorseless admission to the mass-killings he committed, his guilt is an established fact and is not the matter before the court, the court’s verdict will determine whether Breivik will face incarceration or forced psychiatric treatment. Currently the options are 21 years incarceration which may be extended indefinitely if he is deemed a danger to society or indefinite forced psychiatric treatment if he is deemed insane.

Breivik insists that he is sane and has promised to appeal the verdict if he is found to be insane by the court. He has remorselessly attempted to justify his mass-murdering execution style rampage of mostly defenseless teenagers, many of them young girls, as an attempt to cleanse white Christian society of an encroachment by multiculturalism and a fantasized Muslim takeover.

One point that the press and the debate over Breivik and his heinous crimes has not really touched upon, and one that I feel may be key to deciding his “sanity”, if there is really any doubt, is the fact that almost all of his victims were white Norwegian youth, a fact that should negate any argument that he was “fighting for Norwegian purity against a Muslim threat” and a fact that points to the sheer pointless insanity of his actions. He is a madman who wanted to viciously kill as many people as possible and his own insane reasoning was made completely and utterly pointless by his choice of targets.

Sadly for Breivik and his like-minded-angry-white-supremacist brethren such killings can in some twisted way be justified, and can somehow be deemed to be the act of a sane person. However for most of us such senseless murder can in no way be justified.

The fact that Breivik is white also is a very important factor in the case. He has been repeatedly allowed to make Nazi salutes for the cameras in the court and has repeatedly been allowed to invoke his insane ideological ranting in court as if such beliefs could in some way defend his horrendous crimes. Were he of another race group it is seriously doubtful that he would be allowed to so blatantly spit in the face of all of us.

The fact that he is white, as with most white supremacist mass-murders, has led the court and society to debate his sanity. Most members of white society are always quick to marginalize and deem psychotic one of their own when events such as this take place, they are quick to call these killers “loners” and not part of an organization, unlike what occurs when a Muslim or member of any other race group commits such a crime. A topic looked into in depth by Priyamvada Gopal at the Guardian.

With the world currently engaged in what many see as a war against “primitive” Muslims and white Christian society Breivik has many apologists. However even in this context there can be no justification for his acts.

Are the Norwegian people happy about all of this? Many are not. Many feel as I do that there are crimes that can in no way be forgiven by a civilized society and Breivik’s heinous mass-murdering rampage falls into this category. There are crimes for which even in a humane and civilized society there must be an ultimate price to pay. There must be an exception allowing for execution, Breivik as one of the worst mass murderers of all time and deserves such.

Thomas Indreboe, a lay judge who was removed from the case when he called for Breivik to be executed to save "taxpayers from unnecessary expenditures", put it well when he said "…there are other things in Norway that need to be taken care of, like elderly care and roads and such things, the money could have been spent on other things".

According to RIA-Novosti even if the court finds Breivik insane psychiatrists my refuse to treat him as he has been diagnosed as being rational and sane in the past.

Breivik himself hopes he is found to be sane so that his monstrous killing spree will not be viewed as the act of a madman, this will support the delusional architecture of his psychosis, and allow like-minded neo-Nazi fanatics a victory they do not deserve.

If systematically, remorselessly and cold-bloodedly taking the lives of 77 human being, people with families, friends and futures, does not forfeit the right of one to continue to exist, then I don’t know what does.

Regardless of what I think and many who would agree with me, Breivik will continue to live, costing Norwegian taxpayers millions, and he will continue to breathe, exercise, eat nice meals, answer fan mail and spit in the face of all humanity.

Syria’s claims that the uprising on its sovereign territory is being orchestrated from outside the country were given further credibility, by an eight-hour-operational-meeting held in Ankara behind closed doors between US Ambassador to Turkey Elisabeth Jones, Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Under-Secretary Halit Cevik, diplomats, military representatives and intelligence agency representatives.

The detailed self-avowed plans for bringing about the hasty collapse of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were discussed.

Since the beginning of the crisis Turkey has positioned itself as one of the staunchest opponents of President Bashar al-Assad who was once seen as a “friend and brother” according to a recent statement by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey wishes to be one of the main players for NATO, the West and its Middle-East Allies in the region and has many times failed to support the positions of its once allies and friends, including Syria as well as Russia. Recent statements in support of Russia’s position against an armed outside intervention into Syria were obviously carefully staged lies to attempt to appease Moscow which will protect its interests in the region.

The meeting follows the recent provocation by Turkey where a Turkish F-4 Phantom Fighter was shot down in Syrian airspace but which did not bring about the planned result.

Ankara and the Western “architects” had hoped to draw NATO into the conflict by claiming Turkey was being threatened by Syria. Unfortunately for NATO and Turkey the real facts behind the incident came out and even though Turkey claimed the plane was shot down in international airspace and the wreckage somehow flew into Syrian territory, no one was buying it.

The aircraft was in violation of Syrian Airspace and was shot down in Syrian Airspace by Syrian anti-aircraft batteries with a range of only a few kilometers, those are the facts and no matter how Ankara wanted to repaint the picture that is how events occurred.

Now the anti-Assad bloc is attempting to terrorize the world into allowing it to invade Syria by using the pre-Iraq-invasion claim of chemical weapons. This has been repeated many times over the past two months and appears to be the new “point of contention” after the provocative airspace violation did not bring about the result sought by the West.

The fact that Turkey and the West have been openly funding and supplying violent insurgents, introducing Jihadists and every type of foreign mercenary and terrorist into Syria to continue the bloodshed is a point that should be causing international outrage, yet the West is unimpeded and openly admits to such violations of international law and international norms.

Turkey has admitted that along with Washington and a number of Arab countries in the Persian Gulf they are training and providing support for foreign fighters on its territory, fighters that are being sent into Syria to support and aid the insurgents. There are reports that as many as 15,000 such foreign fighters are staged along the Turkish-Syrian border.

Moscow has been opposed to foreign military intervention into the Syrian conflict since the very beginning and this includes “secret” armies being funded and trained by the West in their continuing attempt to force a violent regime change in Syria.

The West has never held talks or in any way promoted the bringing about of a peaceful resolution to the internal Syrian conflict and this has alarmingly become completely and totally evident by all the steps that the West has taken and all of the statements issued by Western Officials over the past few months. This includes an August 11th joint statement by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on their joint planning to implement mechanisms to bring about the hasty termination of the current Syrian Government.

Turkey, the West and their Persian Gulf allies are in violation of international law and internationally accepted norms and should be facing serious international resistance, yet the United Nations and the World continue to allow such infringements on the territorial sovereignty of Syria.

All contentions by the West and United States that they are the World’s “moral policemen” and “guardians of humanity” now seem to be outrageous.

The violent overthrow of a sovereign government can only be called an egregious violation of international norms. Russia has always called for stopping of the bloodshed by establishing peace in order for the Syrian people themselves to decide the fate of their own country.

There has been yet another shooting in the US with multiple victims and innocent people injured. The shooting near the Empire State Building in New York City, after the recent spate of mass-murders and increasing gun violence in America which is causing international resonance, has done little to add to what should be a national outcry for stricter gun control, societal changes and the better training of police.

The facts of the case are as follows: a disgruntled clothing designer, Jeffrey Johnson, who lost his job amidst a conflict with a co-worker, Steve Ercolino, who was supposed to have been promoting his clothing line, opened fired on Ercolino shooting him multiple times in the head and as the victim lay on the ground.

After killing his former co-worker Mr. Johnson, smartly dressed in a suit and tie, calmly walked away but was followed by a nearby construction worker who alerted police. When approached by police, Mr. Johnson produced his weapon and moved as if to open fire. He did not fire the weapon, either because it jammed or was not loaded, but was shot dead by police. According to official police statements to the press Officers Craig Matthews and Robert Sinishtaj fired off a total of 16 rounds, hitting Mr. Johnson 10 times and injuring 9 bystanders.

Despite the high number of innocent people injured by the hail of police gunfire Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters on Saturday that the incident was “handled well”.

One could easily argue that the police officers involved over-reacted and were not sufficiently well trained in gun control as it took two of them 16 rounds to stop a suspect who was in the open and a mere few meters away. New York Police have a long history of using excessive force and of emptying their weapons on suspects but of course the excuse that they acted in the heat of the moment is one that will exonerate them as will the fact that they did in fact stop and “neutralize” the shooter. The fact that that they shot or injured 9 innocent people will likely not be debated much.

As with most such incidents in the US including the recent shootings at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin and the Aurora Colorado massacre the reaction time of the US police was excellent and prevented the loss of more lives. I personally say hats off to them on that. However, what must be looked at are the root causes that trigger such events that allow them to take place in the first place and here again we are delving into an area that needs to be closely studied and seriously looked at by sociologists and the relevant authorities who would then need to implement sober and wide ranging changes to American society. For no matter how Americans scream about their outdated and improperly interpreted 2nd Amendment “Right to Bear Arms” America has serious problems when it comes to guns and arms.

In the case of Mr. Johnson, we see once again a man who lost his job, was described by neighbors as a quiet and kind animal lover and was said to have “snapped”. Yet there were warning signs that were ignored as he had had a long running conflict with his former co-worker and had reportedly even threatened to kill the victim at one point.

In many of these cases the “trigger” that sets off the killers, who in most cases see no other way out, is the loss of a job or other support system that allowed them to live normal lives. Be it a veteran returning home with no support system or safety net to assist him or her, a loner isolated from society with no friends or family, or an employed person with no benefits and no hope for securing new employment, the root causes are the same: isolation, despair, hopelessness and seeing no way out.

One could say that this is a natural function and disadvantage of capitalism with many Americans screaming “Socialism!” at mechanisms that would assist these people, but we as members of society, in reality, have a responsibility and a duty to those around us, be they our family, neighbors, countrymen or even fellow members of the human race.

I just talked about social support but another area affecting these events is the availability of guns in America. Although there is no way that Americans are going to give up their billions of guns, there must be stricter gun controls put into place. For example a complete ban on handguns and I single out handguns because most of these cases involve handguns which are easy to conceal and use. As with the Aurora and Wisconsin shooting Mr. Johnson used a semi-automatic high-caliber weapon purchased legally, in Florida.

As the economic and social problems continue to worsen and become more widespread in America we will no doubt continue to see more and more of these events, and until the American people have the courage to stand up and take a hard look in the mirror and make serious changes, the shootings and death will just continue to escalate.

As most of the world is being torn apart by economic woes, war, hunger, disasters and impending invasions, Great Britain’s Prince Harry has taken over much of the world’s media attention with nude antics in Las Vegas, Nevada and an offer for him to star in a porno film.

Perhaps it wasn’t his fault that the photos have gotten out, after all he did not sanction the taking of the nude pictures of himself playing “strip” billiards, which are now all over the internet. Some fault may be placed on his security detail which did not properly screen all of the attendees of the “billiard” evening and did not confiscate all of the cell phones with built-in cameras from the attendees. Fault may also be placed on the publicity hungry attendees who actually took the photos. Regardless of who is at fault, such behavior and such “antics” even done in a secure “private” setting, as should have been the case, is not fitting for someone who is third in line to the British Throne.

The media, especially the Western Media, unfortunately loves such scandalous stories for the main reason that the readership eats them up with a manic frenzy. The demand for and the uproar over Prince Harry’s photos has reached such a level that according to TMZ online he has been offered $10 million to star in a porn film already titled “The Trouble with Harry”.

According to the publication the head of the adult-film company Vivid Entertainment, Steve Hirsch, sent Prince Harry a written offer of $10 million to star in the film.

The media “orgy” for lack of a better word, over Prince Harry’s nude escapades, is such that the “responsible” Rupert Murdoch-owned British Newspaper, The Sun, embroiled in phone tapping and bribing scandals, published the photos against the wishes of the royal family.

According to various British newspapers and internet news outlets the rights to the photos, taken by unnamed member(s) of the group of more than 20 people, many of them strangers, who witnessed Harry’s nude escapades, are running as high as $1 million.

This is not the first scandal for Harry who has already been forced to apologize for wearing a Nazi uniform at a costume party and at the age of 17 had reportedly undergone substance abuse rehabilitation at the behest of his father Prince Charles.

Upon his return to the United Kingdom from Las Vegas, he was summoned to a royal country residence 100 miles from London where he met with his father, Prince Charles, and has been reportedly very sternly “told off” by the royal family including the Queen who reportedly: “…reminded him of his responsibilities as a member of the royal family.”

The embarrassment for the Royal Family is severe and the unprecedented offer to a member of the Royal Family to star in a porn film must be making many sick to their stomachs. Yet there are those who are hoping that Harry, whose image was almost rehabilitated and was beginning to be seen as a young and serious maturing prince, will be able to weather the storm. This will no doubt depend on how the British public receives Harry’s upcoming public apology.

With all of the problems in the world and the already tainted image of the West, is another sex scandal, this time by a member of the British Royal Family, who many in the West see as a moral compass, something the world really wants to hear about or deal with? Apparently for the West it is. For the rest of the world let’s close the book on the antics of another rich playboy and continue our coverage of what may be the impending invasion of Syria and other such minor issues.

The opinions and views expressed here are my own. I can be reached at jar2@list.ru.

Alleged Hostility Toward Christians in the Far Right’s Manipulation of the US Media

Christians are under assault in the United States, claims recent report issued by Family Research Council and Liberty Institute. On the surface it looks like a seemingly alarming serious survey focusing on human and religious rights abuse. But scratch the surface and hidden agenda and manipulation of facts become obvious.

The subject of this report, and its coverage by Fox and the right-wing media may not exactly fall into the category of “media” bias but it does fall into the category of bias and the clever promotion of secret agendas and hate.

At first glance it sounds alarming: US Christians under assault – report, and it would be alarming, were it true. The report in question titled “The Survey of Religious Hostility in America” (not “A” survey but the “The” survey) is deceptive and designed to damage President Obama’s re-election chances and cleverly propagate, among other things, the intolerance of religions not deemed “real” by the U.S.’ fanatical far religious right.

The “report” wastes no time in attacking Obama and does so on page (i). The following 2 pages are designed to impress and intimidate us with the no doubt impressive resumes of the authors: Kelly Shackelford and Tony Perkins, two individuals who have made careers of using their government service and positions to advance their narrow intolerant right-wing views. Mr. Perkin’s self-avowed goal is to “…affirm and defend the Judeo-Christian values…” the US is founded on. Being listed as the leader of a hate group is also among his credentials but that of course is not mentioned.

The report cites case after case of what it calls discrimination against Christians and Christianity but fails to present all of the facts in each case and fails to note that almost every case they mention are related to issues of separation of Church and State. This is very important because it goes to underline one of the goals of the organizations in question, and that is the funding and further integration of the state and the “Christian” faith.

These are the same people who vilify President Putin and Russia because he received the blessing of the Patriarch and scream about the rights of those who in an act of religious hatred and intolerance desecrated the holiest church of the Orthodox faith, instances where they could twist the facts to their own ends and screamed “No separation of Church and State!” For these people twisting the facts or leaving them out entirely is an art.

The report attacks secularism, homosexual rights, abortion, and nowhere does it mention attacks and even the murders of members of the Muslim Faith, which the organization sees as a “Fanatical Religion”.

Who authored and funded the “report” is very important as it shows that the report was biased from its very creation and was designed to support pre-planned positions and reach false conclusions which were known from its inception.

The Family Research Council, or FRC, purports to support “traditional family values”, something few could speak out against, but how they have chosen to go about it is questionable and promotes the intolerance and marginalizing of minorities and all other religions, even Orthodoxy, which they view as not being “real”.

According to Right Wing Watch and other watchdog groups, the group lobbies for state-sponsored prayer in schools, state funding for private schooling (a way for whites to avoid segregated public schools), censorship in libraries, an end to sex education programs in schools, abstinence as the only method of birth control, an end to reproductive freedom, no abortion even in the case of rape or incest and the right to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

Their goals include: “establishing a conservative Christian standard of morality in all of America's domestic and foreign policy”, defunding the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the disestablishment of the Department of Education.

The Liberty Institute claims they advance “the cause of liberty, including religious liberty”. However they only support those who share their narrow views, the same as those outlined above. An extensive search found no cases where they came out in defense of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists or any other religious group or faith for that matter.

The Family Research Council has been listed as a hate group and its leader Tony Perkins as the leader of a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The organization Equality Matters, an organization that fights for LGBT rights also has an extensive data base on the FRC as does Media Matters for America.

In summary the so called “report” is another thinly guised attempt by a hate group promoting intolerance and using some of the same tactics used by white supremacist groups namely the use of provocations to receive a response they can rally against, the omission of facts and the claim of reverse discrimination.

To understand how the Christian faith has been used by hate groups in the US for centuries one must delve into the psychology of the angry white intolerant part of the population of the country and there is quite frankly not enough space in this column for that.

Perhaps some of their points are valid and even I might agree with one or two, but a healthy democracy must include a separation of Church and State, tolerance for other views and other religions and the protection of minorities.

Religion should never be used as a cover to promote hate or killing, as the FRC does, as the KKK does, as Jihadists do, and even as Hitler did. We as intelligent citizens of the world in the 21st century must speak out against intolerance and do what we can to stop the hate. After all, if you believe in a higher power, we are all “God’s” children.

Another case of US Forces desecrating remains ends with a slap on the wrist for some of the perpetrators while others received no disciplinary action and on the same day the burning of Korans was also brushed off with those guilty also escaping serious punishment. Against the backdrop of increased Afghan on NATO violence and the beheading of 17 partygoers by Islamists, the question as to who really are the "savages" in Afghanistan begs to be asked.

Once again, as with almost every case involving egregious misconduct by US troops who have committed what can only be characterized as war crimes, those involved have received nothing more than the proverbial slap on the wrist, and the cases are in the hundreds if not thousands. We do not know the accurate figures because most such events are hidden and not reported.

This time the events in question could be called benign by US standards. For some reason, probably to minimize the backlash, both judgments came at the same time, namely rulings on cases of soldiers urinating on Taliban corpses and the burning of Korans.

In the case of the urinating Marines some of them received unspecified administrative “discipline,” it was reported on Monday, despite the US claiming that it was a “huge” embarrassment and caused a Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation, as well as condemnation and an apology from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and even US Secretary of State Clinton, who vowed that the culprits would be found and punished.

The other judgment also released on Monday, involved the burning of Korans by US troops, an event which caused widespread riots, multiple deaths and calls from the Taliban and Islamists to kill foreign troops in Afghanistan and Americans in order to defend Islam’s Holy book.

Despite the outrage and deaths caused by their actions nothing “criminal” really occurred, according to the US.

Like I said these were benign events by US standards, after Abu Ghraib and similar events in Iraq, the mass murders of almost 20 civilians while they slept in their homes earlier this year by a “deranged” sergeant, cases of cutting off body parts as trophies (including the cutting off of fingers, noses, ears and even the peeling off of faces), families being set on fire, denial of medical care to mass numbers of civilians leading to their deaths, snipers posing with Nazi symbols, multiple cases of rape, sodomy and massacre after massacre after massacre, sure Marines simply urinating on corpses seems almost comic.

The Taliban are almost no better, however they trail far behind compared to the overall creativity and level of atrocity of NATO’s finest. Their savagery is just as brutal as that committed by some of the NATO forces but less widespread and frequent. The latest event attributed to the Taliban but denied by them and quite possibly carried out by “insurgents,” was the beheading of 15 men and 2 women for having a party with dancing and music, something they view as immoral and un-Islamic.

The Afghan authorities has launched an investigation with President Hamid Karzai saying,”…the attack shows that there are irresponsible members among the Taliban."

The beheading of the partygoers occurred in an area of Musa Qala district which is almost totally under Taliban control. Governor of Musa Qala, Nematullah Khan said, "They were having a music party and the Taliban came and killed them and cut off their heads."

On the same day to the south 10 Afghan soldiers were killed at a checkpoint and 2 NATO soldiers were killed by an Afghan soldier while they were on joint patrol bringing the number of victims of Afghan soldier on NATO soldier violence to 42 this year alone. Now called “green-on-blue-killings” a further sign of the utter failure of almost 12 years of “coalition” occupation.

These are facts the west would rather we did not know because in Afghanistan as in Iraq every move against the citizenry and every bomb dropped has been done illegally. Both of these countries were attacked in illegal acts of military aggression for involvement in events they had nothing to do with, namely the events of 9-11, both of the countries never threatened or even posed a threat to the US, yet they have paid the price and have been illegally occupied so it is not surprising that the people are fighting back.

Going back to the subject of slaps on the wrists for those committing atrocities, for me, the reason they never pay the price for their illegal behavior has been clear for a long time. How on earth could the US judicial system or the US military deem anything their own killing machines do to be illegal if the whole war and occupation of Afghanistan is in and of itself illegal to begin with?

The truth is an extremely dangerous thing especially when it is something that might end plans for world domination, and that is what it is all about, but it looks like they may be failing.

In Afghanistan, a country decimated by close to 12 years of war the truths are hidden on a daily basis and as sites such as Wikileaks have found out (the hard way), reporting on the facts is something the US Empire will not allow.

The destruction and atrocities that the US has unleashed on the Afghan people continue on a daily basis and have been something the US has attempted time and time again to hide. As they continue so will the response from the Afghan side.

In Afghanistan the US obfuscates, hides and doctors the facts at every turn so that even finding an accurate count of the number of civilian deaths in the country is almost an impossibility with numbers ranging from the 10s of thousands to the millions. Yet one thing is crystal clear the US has failed in Afghanistan and there is little likelihood that there is a way out.

One question that I feel truly begs to be answered is quite a simple one: who in fact are the real “savages” in Afghanistan?

End of US-Russian 'Reset', or Romney's Cold War Thinking as a Threat to Global Security

Cold war thinkers have drawn up Mitt Romney’s foreign policy stance and it does not look good neither for the U.S., nor for Russia or the free world. Continuing the rhetoric that Russia is geo-political enemy number one and promising to confront and make Russia cow to U.S. interests the Republicans have once again proven their complete disregard for diplomacy.

Whether or not the Republicans are just playing for their base or are seriously proposing such policies, they have proven that they will be force for more instability and conflict in the world.

Mitt Romney and his vice-presidential running mate, now the official contenders for the White House, will dangerously radicalize U.S. foreign policy in particular they will openly and with extreme prejudice confront the Russian Federation on a number of issues, and advance U.S. interests and geo-political policies and plans regardless of the wishes of the international community.

To say that Romney and his Republican brethren are a danger to world peace would be an understatement. Their “ultra-conservative” views and stances on a number of issues will bring about another era of neo-conservative subjugation for the American people and the world and their backward thinking and confrontational posturing will destroy much of the delicate compromise that has kept the world stable for the last four years.

According to Romney, who not long ago called Russia enemy number one, and his Republican advisors who have approved a program for their party at their convention in Florida, the Russian Federation is the number one geo-political enemy of the United States and a “traditional rival” along with North Korea, Iran and China. They also believe the Russian Government is authoritarian, does not respect human rights, suppresses the press, aligns with dictatorial regimes and the clincher: “was guilty of an unprovoked invasion of Georgia”.

In short all of the prehistoric, cold-war style, holier-than-thou, self-elevating, self-advancing, blatantly false and confrontational rhetoric and talking points that the Republicans are famous for.

To take their points apart one by one is to give them credibility they do not deserve but in case you just arrived from planet Sirius 7, Russia did not invade Georgia but rather prevented the genocide of Russian citizens in South Ossetia by the Georgian Army, the press in Russia is freer than ever, the U.S. is currently supporting and creating more dictators than ever before (Bahrain anyone?), the U.S. is engaged in a program of global domination and instigating regime change wherever they see fit and the U.S. through its military surrogates and NATO is attempting to subjugate the entire planet and bend it to its will by placing it under it military control.

Romney adviser Rich Williamson at the "round table" on the Foreign Policy Initiative, a paper filled with misconceptions laying out Republican Foreign Policy posturing and their political stance, stated that the Romney Administration will end the “reset” and confront Russia on issues such as Georgia, Iran, Syria and others.

Georgia I have already mentioned, Syria and Iran are points of contention for the most part only when it comes to the U.S.’ plans to aggressively invade these two countries and attempt to make the sovereign nations bend to Washington’s will and bring these peoples to their knees.

Williamson also said that Russia has “chosen the path of confrontation rather than cooperation", apparently such blatant lies are more rhetoric for the Republican “base” who as I have already said see no difference between a “Sheik” and a “Sikh”. To say that Russia has chosen such a path when the entire Republican platform is based on and call for confrontation with Russia is disingenuous and a complete and total lie.

Russia has embarrassingly bent to almost every U.S. encroachment on its sovereignty, its geo-political position, its internal functions and its military security since the collapse of the Soviet Union, even going so far as to attempt to repeatedly work with NATO and the U.S. in their plans to surround Russia with their missiles.

To listen to Romney and his Republican like and read how they plan to “curb Moscow”, “confront Russia”, surround Russia with missiles and the like is to get the impression that he is talking about some small third world nation they can just obliterate at any moment and not the largest country on the planet and a formidable nuclear power.

The Republicans shamelessly have also said they will meddle in European affairs and attempt to reduce Europe’s “dependence” on Russian oil and gas, which Europe obtains cheaply. I suppose if the oil and resource starved U.S. succeeds in re-making the Middle East and seizing control of all of the oil and resources in the region they will offer Europe a cheaper alternative.

As for the Asia-Pacific Region Romney has said he will strengthen ties with Asian countries, it seems whether they want it or not, and reduce Russian influence in the region.

Lastly, according to Pravda.ru, “Romney expressed his willingness to be the godfather of the Russian opposition and organize the training for opposition activists at American educational centers.”

As for the RNC Convention Republicans have once again let their hypocrisy shine, with Tampa expecting a wave of strippers and prostitutes who will no doubt “service” the “family values” of the Republican conventioneers. Even a porn star named Lisa Ann, who impersonates Sarah Palin, making millions on Republican’s lustful desires for the Alaska Governor and right-wing propaganda mouthpiece.

Not only prostitutes have descended on Tampa but those opposing the Republican’s narrow minded platform including Occupiers from all over the U.S.

According to Jeffrey Billman at the Orlando Weekly, some issues of import to Americans are Republican plans to gut Medicare, bring back the gold standard, eviscerate abortion rights, ban gay marriage, deport brown people, and more.

The Huffington Post was also not very “optimistic” in a look at the GOP’s extreme positions, in short promising hell not only for Russia but for Americans if these people come to power.

From where I am sitting, even taking into account the fact that Romney is playing to his base, he will no doubt be detrimental to Russian-U.S. relations and will be a "tyrant" and a "threat to global security" if he becomes president.

The Republican National Convention will soon be history but the resonance of what occurred in Tampa may live on for a long time. For the first time in decades, police and protestors have found a common ground and mutual respect. Something the elites who met to plan their divisive foreign and internal policies and to continue and expand the influence of their party of exclusion, cannot be at all happy about.

There are still a few people out there who have not forgotten the plethora of crimes committed by the Republican Administration of George Bush even though many people who questioned 9-11 and the aggressive wars launched by the U.S. against countries that had nothing to do with it have been marginalized and written off to obscurity, some are still able to make themselves heard and are still fighting for those responsible for everything from Guantanamo to the Bush torture program to be brought to justice.

Although a majority of the American people are too scared to stand up and protest, there is a growing number of Americans who feel they have nothing to lose and that it is time to take their country back from the rich elites who have gutted the American dream for the many and have destroyed the image of the U.S. worldwide.

Many Americans are waking up and realizing that there is no real Democracy in the United States and that both parties are exactly the same. Despite this the U.S. Republican Party has classically and unapologetically been the party for rich white elitists and has now become the focus of protests by protest groups and the majority of Americans who are truly suffering.

One of these groups, Code Pink an anti-war group composed mainly of women, which has been attempting to make citizen’s arrests of various members of the previous US Administration under George Bush for years, due to the lack of legal entities who are willing to bring charges against the entrenched mostly former officials, has come out in force at the RNC Convention in Tampa Florida.

Code Pink’s methods may seem to be questionable and some might say even outrageous, but they are effective in getting attention and then using the attention to get their message out, in particular attempting to stage what is called in the US: a “citizen’s arrest.”

Along with the Occupy Movement and over 40 other protest groups, they descended on the “Convention of the Elites” who gathered in Tampa to select an already chosen candidate, enjoy looking at beautiful women stripping in front of them, listen to speeches and planning policy demonizing Russia and other “evil” countries and to pat each other on the backs and tell each other how wonderful they are.

Code Pink has been the most active at the RNC, for example at a speaking engagement tied to the Republican National Convention, members of Code Pink organized a protest outside of the venue while Rice was speaking inside. The protestors carried handcuffs and said they had come to arrest the former Secretary of State for war crimes.

The Co-Director of Code Pink Rae Abileah and Code Pink Member Colonel Ann Wright, US Army Retired, managed to enter the building where Rice was holding her speaking engagement and disrupt her speech regarding “compassion”.

At the beginning of the speech the Colonel stood up and began shouting the phrase: "You cannot be compassionate and kill people in the war of choice, the war in Iraq!”. Then Ms. Abileah stood up and shouted, “The blood of Iraqi children is on your hands!” Guard then escorted the women from the building.

Code Pink later confirmed on Twitter that the activists tried to prevent Condoleezza Rice from making political speeches.

The group also managed to pull off one of the most successful disruptions of their 10 year existence by infiltrating and getting through the intense security of the Republican National Convention and disrupting a speech by the vice presidential contender Paul Ryan.

The group also heckled Rick Santorum pulling off more than the Occupy Movement and the other protest groups who had also gathered to protest at the RNC. According to Code Pink they have: “…become famous for confronting the warmongers, whether in the halls and hearing rooms of Congress, the national conventions of both the Republicans and Democrats, George Bush's fundraisers, the publicity tours of Karl Rove, Condi Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and others and even at Nancy Pelosi's house.”

Code Pink has compiled a long list of Bush era war criminals, available on their site which includes Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Stanley McChrystal, George Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Karl Rove, John Bolton, Michael Chertoff, John Ashcroft, I. Lewis Libby, Alberto Gonzales, John Yoo, Dick Cheney and George Tenet. They are calling for the arrests of all of the aforementioned and more and according to Tighe Barry, the actor and a Code Pink activist in an interview with the Voice of Russia the group has approached and attempt tp carry out citizen’s arrest on all of the individuals on their list.

Although the group is active regarding some of the most serious issues of our times, their tactics, such as the wearing of costumes designed to look like female genitalia, some say does not help their credibility and is actually insulting to women, others say this helps them get attention.

An organizer with Occupy the RNC, a local group which is assisting and coordinating with all of the groups that have come to protest the RNC, including Occupiers from all over the U.S., said there have been few if any incidents of violence between the peaceful protestors and the police. The organizer, Amos Miers, even said that on Thursday the Occupiers at the Occupy camp had run out of food and water and the Tampa Police themselves brought the Occupiers dozens of cases of food and fruit and dozens of bottles of water.

Code Pink activist Tighe Barry also had many kind words for the police who are reported to have been prepared for the worst, and who he said behaved professionally and without the use of violence or excessive force.

Miers said that according to police they had been told that they would be going up against violent anarchists and violent protestors and that the police were surprised at the peaceful and gentle nature of the Occupiers and the other protestors.

The Republican National Convention is coming to a close, and barring last minute and unexpected events, the RNC has accomplished one thing, for the first time in recent memory, the so called 99% have been looked after and have even found common ground with the police and the authorities, who until now appeared to be solely the servants of the 1%.

This week in the biased-media we have Berezovsky obliterating what little credibility he had left in a London courtroom, President Putin continuing to be attacked by anonymous entities lacking facts, “poor” Russia should be pitied because it has a plateful of problems and Romney a “bad” guy “wink-wink”. Those are some of the offerings we have this week from the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Economist and ForeignPolicy.com.

An event related to Russia this past week which received a lot of attention in the Western Press was the lawsuit in a London Court between “Oligarch on the run” Boris Berezovsky and Chelsea owner and multi-billionaire Russian businessman Roman Abramovich.

Although the case was one which the Western Media could have used once again to propagate anti-Russia sentiment and deride President Putin, media outlets were on the whole factual in reporting the case.

Berezovsky has been a poster boy for the West in the derision of Russia and in Western attempts to usurp President Vladimir Putin’s power, popularity and political support. However after the ruling and the statements by the judge in the case, Judge Elizabeth Gloster, it is highly unlikely he will now be much use to MI-5/6 and Western spin-doctors as his credibility was all but obliterated.

The Wall Street Journal, who we cited as being biased several weeks ago, was not apologetic towards Berezovsky calling the ruling “a culmination of Mr. Berezovsky's stunning fall from power.” However their reporting on the case also included the further promotion of misconceptions and half-truths about Russia.

The judge in the case, in a 38 page summary of her judgment dismissing the case, said Berezovsky was "…. an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable, witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept, which could be molded to suit his current purposes." She also said: "I regret to say that the bottom line of my analysis of Mr. Berezovsky's credibility is that he would have said almost anything to support his case."

Further blasting his credibility the judge said; "At times, the evidence which he gave was deliberately dishonest; sometimes he was clearly making his evidence up as he went along in response to the perceived difficulty in answering the questions in a manner consistent with his case; at other times, I gained the impression that he was not necessarily being deliberately dishonest, but had deluded himself into believing his own version of events."

Berezovsky’s slanderous claim that he was pressured by President Putin into selling ORT television was also the subject of the judge’s ire, something which greatly upset Berezovsky and which might have resonance on his case for asylum as the claim was one of the cornerstones of his asylum application. The judge said flat out that she did not believe his claim.

After the ruling Berezovsky did what he did best, he blamed President Putin for his own failure, this time in the court saying he "had the impression that Putin himself wrote this judgment.” He also provided more evidence that he may be delusional, as was stated by the judge, and losing touch with reality when he accused the judge of “re-writing Russian history”, as it did not coincide with his own self-serving version of events.

In contrast, she found Abramovich, who did not appear at the hearing to be "a truthful, and on the whole reliable, witness."

Back to the Murdoch Owned Wall Street Journal, as I said above, they did present a slight slant that was not fully in keeping with reality. Their characterization of the case as coming out of “a post-Soviet soap opera” and “bordering on comedy” as well as references to the “Godfather”, “modus operandi” and the like only served to paint the events as less than legitimate, rather than blaming Berezovsky for making outrageous claims as he strives to rebuild his dwindling millions by suing everyone he can. All that said the coverage by the WSJ was on the whole surprisingly balanced.

Berezovsky did manage to further damage Russian business and the image of Russia by suing Abramovich in a British court as the case should have been heard in a Russian court. Holding the case in London was an affront to the Russian judiciary and damaging to its image. The case also damages the image of Russian business as it brought out old stereotypes and the dark side of Russian business after the collapse of the Soviet Union, an environment that no longer exists and which the Russian business community has worked hard to eradicate.

Moving on to a much more deceptive, layered and intricate anti-Putin piece published on one of the “blogs” of the Economist, we see anti-Putin propaganda reach an entirely new level. The piece deceptively begins by criticizing other “Russia-watchers” for “much talk and few facts” and immediately links to an article on the Guardian citing Stanislav Belkovsky whom the anonymous writer calls a “rumor-monger” and one who speaks “without citing sources”, in an obvious attempt to make the reader believe that what follows are credible and unbiased facts.

The piece is called “Nice Work” I would re-title it “Nice Try”. What follows is even more talk, conjecture, the twisting of the facts and the citing of questionable sources who clearly have an agenda of their own to promote.

The “anonymous” author continues to cite a “report” by Boris Nemtsov, someone whom the Russian media reported was in the pay of one of the western Ambassadors to Russia and who did everything possible to hurt President Putin’s chances of re-election during the last elections.

Anonymous also cites an unrelated Levada center report regarding general corruption in a way that attempts to show a link to President Putin and “research” by one Mikhail Dmitirev another person with an agenda to promote, which supports claims of discontent amongst the “middle-class opposition” in Russia.

Finally the piece finishes up with quotes from, (Are you ready for this?!), “A man in the city of Dzerzhinsk”, and a suggestion to visit a “mysterious palace” that the BBC investigated but was unable to prove belongs to anyone.

The next article to enter the radar screen appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and again is by an anonymous author. From the first sentence it paints Russia in a negative light continuing with its “problems” and attacking the Kremlin, democracy in Russia and President Putin.

The article slanders President Putin by saying things like “Mr. Putin could be described kindly as a control freak or a frustrated dictator.” It also paints Russia as some sort of 3 rd world country by saying WTO entry will “raise the living standard” and again attacks the president for the actions and deserved punishment of the group Pussy Riot.

The article which just repeated anti-Russian talking points then makes a final “apologetic” swipe at Russia by saying Romney was wrong in calling Russia geo-political enemy number one. Not for the million reasons that this is false, but because Russia has “a full plate of demanding problems”.

The last piece for now brought a small surprise when I found a two paragraph quote by yours truly in it. The article in question titled: "Russian press rips Romney and his promise of ‘Republican hell’" by one Uri Friedman, no anonymous author here, deals with the topic in a more or less balanced manner, however he does not counter or go against any of the statements made by Romney or support any of the points that were brought up in the Russian Press.

If there are Americans who feel differently from Romney it is not apparent from the article as there are no views presented from the other end of the political spectrum to counter Romney’s aggressive anti-Russian rhetoric.

Silent support or just a biting of the tongue? Hard to blame him for what he did not say, but still.

Continuing this week’s look at the biased media we look at the Japan Times Online, the UK’s Independent and the Guardian as well as the New York Times.

In a piece titled Pawns of the neo-Putin era the author, Andrey Borodaevskiy, wastes no time in launching his attack on Putin although the piece turns into an article parroting views on the group Pussy Riot. In the first paragraph he assumes to know President Vladimir Putin’s state of mind, as many critics and politicians in the West love to do, stating as fact that the president felt “anxiety” due to certain people’s actions, who exactly cause such anxiety he does not say but of course we are to assume the writer means the “opposition”.

The author then states that the president began taking “revenge” and calls the president’s staff or supporters, “henchmen”. Again he does not state exactly who the henchmen are or the objects of said revenge, but for this writer it is not important who, neither are the facts, the whole idea is to attack.

I don’t pretend to know the president or his mind but I imagine if the president were to take “revenge” on everyone who caused him “anxiety” he would not have time to eat or sleep, let alone run the country and would have to go after everyone who ran against him or ever questioned him. If what the author were writing was to be believed, in particular that the president of the largest country in the world spends time getting revenge on everyone, and it is clear he himself does not believe what he is writing, then he would have been a bit more careful in what he says. Otherwise the KGB, which does not exist anymore, might get him!

As if to back up his already thin argument based on air, the writer then continues by citing a law that increased the fine for illegal public events which he has obviously not read and then taking it out of context makes it seem like the security services are just itching to arrest people. The law in question regards fines for illegal public activities which cause a danger to the public and society and was written to prevent the further abuse and non-adherence to the law that was starting to spread in Russia. A law made necessary by the actions of groups such as P-Riot, but that is not important either I guess. The reason for the changing of the law was brought about by the aforementioned group and the Western funded and backed, so-called “opposition”, after their events became more and more violent and scores of innocent people were injured and adversely affected.

Of course painting the picture of people who gathered to cause public discontent and throw rocks and spit at police, as innocent victims of oppression is to the writer’s advantage. The fact that the “opposition’s” leaders and many of the organizers receive instructions and money from a certain ambassador who specializes in organizing color revolutions as well as the fact that many of the “activists” were paid to attend events and provoke the state and police is something the author fails to say anything about, also not important since it does not serve his purpose.

The writer continues as an apologist for the greatest provocateurs of recent history, the group P-Riot. Calling their costumes “luminous”, obviously he forgot to check his dictionary before publication, and their “song”, filled with obscene language disguised as a religious hymn making a mockery of the church and the Orthodox faith, an “irreverent number”, he proceeds to attempt to paint a picture of the Russian judiciary as being politically motivated and the “girls” (women with kids) as innocent victims.

Calling the desecration of the holiest part of the holiest church of the Orthodox faith “regretful” and an “artistic carnival-like performance of a kind that can be widely seen around the world” and pretending to know better than the judge in the case how to deal with such an unprecedented case, the writer continues to attempt to make this into some conspiracy against the people by the “evil” state.

As with all of these apologists and detractors, I wonder why they never bring up, for example California’s three-strikes law that has people serving life sentences for things like shoplifting, or Islamic law which would have probably had every one of these “girls” executed. Well the answer is rhetorical, as always any opportunity to deride Russia is something they rarely miss.

I have asked many Western supporters of P-Riot what would have happened if the event took place in the Vatican or in the church where Barrack Obama worships and no one has answered yet. Perhaps we could ask Mr. Borodaevskiy what he would do if the “girls” barged into his mother’s house and gave a “performance”, after all, according to him it was not a hate crime but just good fun. Would he agree? Fat chance.

Another publication, the Independent, published an article by Roland Oliphant, which also wastes no time in painting a very dark picture of Russia for the reader by stating “investigators tried to link a double murder to the group”, the problem with this is obvious. He implies the investigators had some interest in doing something so illegal and beyond any accepted norms.

Just to mention it since no else is, the words "Free Pussy Riot" were scrawled in blood on the wall, in English. Remember this is Russia, why would the killers write in English? For the Western press perhaps? As no one has made a point of this fact perhaps it is something we could use to paint an even darker picture of how far Western forces would go, but we won’t go there will we?

The writer calls the P-Riot provocation a simple “punk prayer” (Perhaps the Western media should take the time to find and translate the “lyrics” before they write about it?), the Christ the Savior Cathedral he calls simply “a Moscow cathedral” again diminishing the importance of the event and says, in an attempt to show some connection with the authorities, that the photos were published by a “tabloid website known to have close links to the authorities”. Known by whom? I politely ask.

Near the end of the article the writer quotes Nikolay Polozov a lawyer for the (now he calls them) “art collective”, as questioning when the slogan was written. Maybe he should seek an answer from the authorities? But even though this is an unsolved double murder investigation since it is Russia I suppose for the writer it is enough to quote people not even close to the case.

The Guardian did quote the authorities, in a piece by Miriam Elder , published alongside an offer to buy the book “Mafia State” (another attack on Russia), yet makes the inference that unknown Kremlin supporters who say the group “… encourages dangerous radicalism” accuse the group of involvement. No such accusation was made.

Almost every piece in the Western press regarding the group takes the same sympathetic slant with very few if any presenting the view held by a majority of the Russian population and those of the Russian Orthodox Faith. The attack and provocation, which they claimed was an attack on President Putin, and the coverage of it in the West has now taken a much darker and wholly different nature and appears to have changed into perhaps what it was from the very beginning, an attack on the faith of most of the Russian people.

In seeking articles presenting Orthodox opinions I did come across one in the Western press that mentions the position of people holding Orthodox views in the New York Times. At first I was pleasantly surprised, but the pleasantness ended in a matter of seconds as unfortunately it was another unbalanced smear job, this time by oneRobert Mackey. The completely unbalanced and totally biased article wins my “most biased anti-Russian report of the week award”. Starting with the misleading headline, “After Pussy Riot Verdict, Christian Culture Warriors Run Riot in Moscow” it immediately paints an extremely negative picture of activists who defend the Orthodox Church.

“Running Riot” is the term the writer has chosen to describe 2 young men who have chosen to confront those who are openly blaspheming their faith, the term would better describe what the group P-Riot was doing in the lead up to the previous presidential elections, jumping on roofs, on top of trolley busses, the insides of metro stations, Red Square and other improper locations, a rampage which ended in one of the holiest places for the Orthodox faith.

The writer does call the P-Riot “song”, which was staged in the cathedral a “profane anthem” but calls the activities of the “conservative” Orthodox activists “audacious attacks” on “liberal” Muscovites. He tries to transpose internal American culture warfare parameters onto Russian Society. I am sorry to have to inform him but there are not “conservative” and “liberal” sides in Russia, that division in American society does not exist in Russia and to use this case in particular to attempt to instill a social divide is as stupid as the antics of P-Riot. Almost every Russian would agree the Christ the Savior desecration was a stupid attack. Many might argue as to the sentence or other points in the case, but the act itself is not supported by an almost absolute majority of Russians of all faiths and leanings.

Can one really be said to “barge into” a sex museum? Apparently for Mr. Mackey such a place of “reverence” deserves quiet respectful behavior, unlike a cathedral in the middle of a service I suppose.

The bias and derision of the Orthodox activists, whose actions were filmed by a television channel, continues for the rest of the article with the writer quoting the “moral icon of society”, sex museum director Alexander Donskoy, who makes wild exaggerations of the quiet Orthodox young men saying: they are; “…threatening our lives and tearing clothes off simple passers-by, and tomorrow they’ll go raid churches of other confessions and stab atheists.”

The writer attempts to paint a picture of the P-Riot attack as not being an attack on the Orthodox Religion, which is beyond the pale. If it were in fact something political they should have attempted to stage their provocation in a more “political” location. Red Square for example, as they already had, and were not locked up (a fact the Western Press has conveniently forgotten). After they “performed” on Red Square they were emboldened by the leniency of the authorities and they attacked the Church.

Freedom of expression, dissent, opposition, demonstrations, the right to be heard and represented are all natural aspects of a democracy, but you don’t attack the holy religious places of the people, no matter what the faith. No one could be so stupid to do so “accidently” and barring insanity, logically anyone who does so must hold a hatred for the religion they attack.

At the victory speech ceremony for Quebec’s first woman premier and amid celebrations by the Quebec independence party, a lone gunman attempted to assassinate the new premier, Pauline Marois. Much of the world’s press see the victory as a sign that Quebec will secede from Canada, as opposed to those on the ground, many of whom say Quebec’s independence is the stuff of pipe dreams.

Canada, with a murder rate less than 33% of that of the U.S., where even police in some areas remained unarmed and where politically motivated violence is extremely rare, the last political killing in the country occurred in 1970 when Labor Minister Pierre Laport was murdered by a radical nationalist group operating in Quebec, is appalled by an assassination attempt on the newly elected premier of Quebec Pauline Marois.

The attempt on the life of the new premier took place at approximately midnight on Tuesday in a Montreal concert hall where Ms. Marois was making a victory speech after she became Quebec’s first female premier and her separatist party Parti Quebecois, were victorious over the incumbent Liberal party.

An unidentified man of about 40 years old was killed and another injured when the 62-year-old shooter, a “large man” whose name has not yet been released, opened fire at the venue just after Ms. Marois began speaking in English, something rare for a Quebec politician. According to Reuters she had just finished saying that one day Quebec would be an independent country.

Local media has reported that the man killed by the gunman was a technician at the theater and that the injured man was reportedly the driver of a bus used by the Parti Quebecois campaign.

After taking the man into custody police confirmed that the target of the killer was in fact Ms. Marois. So far they have released few other details regarding the incident.

The killer was armed with a hunting rifle and a handgun and was wearing a black mask and a black cape. According to police he entered the theater through a back entrance at approximately midnight and shot the two victims.

The gunman was also reported to have attempted to set fire to the theater and succeeded to starting a fire near the back door which police were able to put out.

During the arrest, as the man was being dragged away by police, he is reported to have shouted in French: "The English are waking up!"

The shooting has shocked Canada and has brought international attention to the separatist movement in Quebec, where close to 90% of the population are French speaking.

The victory by Parti Quebecois and their leader Pauline Marois has some Canadians worried about the secession of Quebec from Canada. However Ms. Arois has said there would not be a referendum any time soon, although she did promise a vote which might be years away. This might be due to the fact that, according to Reuters: “…a recent poll showed only 28% percent of Quebecers back separation from the rest of Canada.”

Ms. Marois is not loved by all Quebecers, according to Michael Den Tandt at the Ottawa Citizen, (LINK 1) she is the candidate for the Pure Laine or “pure stock” meaning Caucasian, Christian, francophone.

The author says her policies will attempt to give Quebec more control over a slew of issues including immigration, copyright rules, foreign aid and she has promised to give certain Quebecers “citizenship cards”.

The Ottawa Citizen and other Canadian publications also say that there is very little chance of there being a referendum on independence. Among the reasons the fact that Quebecers themselves do not want it, “they just want to be left alone to live their lives” and there are no monumental issues that Ms. Marois can rally behind to call for such a referendum.

So despite the fact the secessionists have won a small victory, winning 54 of the 125 seats in the provincial legislature, which means the Liberals will now have to share power, it is still unlikely that Quebec will be moving towards independence anytime soon.

The shooting outside a packed venue in Montreal, Canada where Quebec’s new premier was giving her victory speech may not have been targeting the premier. Canadians continue to express shock and disbelief at the incident. Many Canadians see Canada as a pacifist country and are not accustomed to incidents of political violence and mass shooting.

The man who died in the attack was killed as he was preventing the killer, who has now been named by police, from entering the building. Police have yet to charge the shooter on charges related to an attempted assassination.

The name of the shooter in the assassination attempt on the newly-elected premier of the of the Canadian province of Quebec has been released to the public and is reported to be one Richard Henry Bain, the soon-to-be-62-year-old owner of a fishing and hunting shop in La Conception, Quebec .

Thursday morning the suspect was arraigned in a court in Montreal on 16 charges, the most serious of which being first-degree murder for the killing of 48-year-old Denis Blanchette, the sound technician who Bain shot dead at the venue called the Metropolis during the victory speech and celebrations of the new premier and her party.

Police have still not released any information regarding the motive for the killing even though the suspect has undergone interrogation. There are reports that during the incident, the arrest and afterwards the shooter was rambling and incoherently making statements in English and French.

The details continue to come in including those regarding the mental health of Bain who was reported to be lucid and calm in court as he was arraigned. Apparently he suffered from and was being treated for bipolar disorder in the recent past.

The 16 charges he faces include first-degree murder, a charge of attempted murder for shooting and wounding 27-year-old David Courage, two charges of attempted murder for pointing his gun and attempting to shoot Quebec Security Service Officer Sargeant Stéphane Champagne and a bystander named Elias Ames-Bull (fortunately his gun jammed), a charge of aggravated assault, an arson charge for attempting to burn down the Metropolis with a highway-flare, a possession of explosives charge and multiple and varied weapons charges, mostly for improper storage and handling.

Bain is said to have owned more than 25 weapons and rifles with almost all of them being registered. According to police he had 2 weapons with him and 3 more in his black SUV which was parked nearby. The five weapons included a 9 mm semi-automatic Luger, a Beretta, a Ceska Zbrojovka carbine, a semi-automatic .22 caliber hunting rifle and .357 Magnum revolver.

Bain is said to have lived alone in a chalet near a lake in La Conception more than 2 and a half hours from Montreal. His neighbors and friends paint a portrait of a man with many failed business ideas but with no particular political positions or leanings. There are reports, however, that he may have been angry because the government did not allow him to expand his fishing camp.

According to local media reports Crown prosecutor Éliane Perreault said that for the time being Bain will not undergo a psychiatric evaluation as he is lucid and understands what is going on around him and appears to understand the charges against him.

The state appointed public defender who is representing Bain, Elfriede Duclervil, told reporters she had not had a chance to speak to her client as he was in intensive care but that she would do so after the hearing where it is reported Bain merely said okay when he was made aware of the charges against him.

Prosecutors and investigators have not ruled out further charges prompting speculation on whether he will be charged with conspiracy to assassinate Pauline Marois, as was reported initially at the time of the incident. Currently there is no evidence that the killing and attempted arson of the venue was connected with an assassination attempt.

On Wednesday night hundreds gathered to pay respects to the man Bain murdered, Denis Blanchette. Mr. Blanchete, the father of one, prevented Bain from entering the Metropolis Theater where Marois was giving her speech and paid for it with his life. Those who gathered packed the street outside the theater and held a candlelight vigil.

Premier-elect Pauline Marois has requested outgoing premier Jean Charest to grant Mr. Blanchette a civic funeral. Mr. Charest’s press secretary has told the press that Charest plans on moving forward with Marois’ recommendation.

With the secessionists winning the elections in Quebec the world is full of speculation that they will secede from Canada. In this piece I take a brief look at independence in the Americas and give my take on the Quebecers and others in North America who claim to want to be free but refuse to pay the price for that freedom.

Classically the French and the English have never really shared much love for each other. This goes back to the years of the great empire building and the wars for the Americas between the Spanish the French and the English, with the Portuguese and other nations playing a smaller role.

The Spanish, one could say won the wars for the Americas hands down, partly because they were able to assimilate better with the Indians and the indigenous peoples and rather than attempting to completely annihilate the natives they absorbed each other.

The Spanish won more territory taking over part of North America and almost all of Central and South America, with small areas won by the Portuguese.

For the French, loyal to France and the Monarchy it was a different story, the English, for the most part drunken cut-throats, murderers, and misfits of all sorts who hated England and were engaged in a campaign of genocide against the indigenous people, chased them far to the North where they too waged a war of annihilation on the Indians, albeit on a smaller scale.

The Tories, loyal to the United Kingdom and the Monarchy, were also chased to the North, by those who refused to pay allegiance to their homeland, in what is known as the American Revolutionary War.

With the grandiose schemes of Napoleon and then the successive failures of the French Empire, Quebec was a consolation prize for the French. It was a cold and unforgiving place that the English were not that interested in.

In the end the French in fact ended being subjugated and controlled by their historic rivals from across the La Mange as English speaking Canada and the Tories paid their allegiance to England and the Monarchy, and controlled what became to be known as Quebec.

Personally for me it is difficult to feel sympathy for any of these people as they committed the worst genocide in the history of all mankind against my people. Given that fact, they are all living on stolen land so any discussion of Quebec becoming independent from Canada seems to me to be absurd and a denial of history. Nevertheless the Indians are for the most part gone and those who are left are contained and voiceless, except for a very few.

Ignoring those facts, as the world has been trained to do, allow me to continue. The Quebec people are proud of their heritage, their language and their culture. They are also proud of what differentiates them from the English and in particular from the Americans.

Among these differences is violence in society. Many French Canadians view themselves as pacifists and violence, especially gun violence, in the country is rare. So the American style shooting outside of the victory speech by the new premier has many worried that this may be a sign that American style mass shootings may be coming to Canada. Not likely, as Canada has strict gun laws and a working social safety net for the population, including housing and healthcare, but nevertheless people are worried.

Will Quebec secede from Canada? Not likely, the people are too comfortable with what they have and the way things are, they may complain but few are willing to pay the price and go through all of the trouble that would be involved. Freedom and independence are not as important as all of the nice things they think they are provided with and many just want to be left alone to live their lives, pay their mortgages and raise their children.

So we have a continuation of the bickering and another question over the division of lands stolen from the Indians. Since this is an opinion piece I will give you my opinion: the Indian people should be allowed to hold a referendum on whether they wish the invaders to stay on their lands. Based on the answer then we should proceed from there.

Wishful thinking, since that is never going to happen and in fact the whole topic is not even worth discussing because it is up to the people of Quebec themselves to decide on whether or not they wish to stay a part of Canada, and they will not be doing so anytime soon.

They have too much to lose in their eyes and I have already said it would be too troublesome and adversely affect their comfortable lives. The same problem exists in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the Maldives and a host of other territories or possessions where the people are too comfortable with the things they think have been given by the colonizers and fear the consequences of self-determination.

In this way capitalism and the West have manipulated and literally bought off much of the world. Were trade and import export levels balanced worldwide this would no longer pose a problem but unfortunately there are only a small group of countries controlling the flow of goods and services worldwide.

If this grip could be broken then there might be a chance for equality and an improved standard of living for the entire planet. This idea does not sit well with the United States or the world’s leading trade powerhouses, for when they lose the trade wars they lose a large tool that they use to advance their imperialist ambitions.

In reality it is strange for me, a person of Arawak (Taino) / Spanish descent, who has assimilated and been accepted in Russia to be writing about the French and English squabbles, people who not long ago brutally committed genocide against my people and are still bickering over the lands they stole, with the Quebecers making claims to wanting their own country on lands that are not theirs to begin with.

If the Quebecers want independence I say more power to them, they should stand up and have the fortitude to fight for their independence and stop whining. Many people’s would go to war for such a chance, all the Quebecers have to do is have a referendum and go through some difficulties. If freedom is not that important to them so be it, but stop whining.

I could say the same thing to my fellow Puerto Ricans, but they have been so brainwashed that the very idea of freedom, self-determination and independence is an abomination to them. They are too afraid to even think about such a thing and are content to be a US possession.

Before I go I just want to say to those who might write to me about Chechnya and the Russian Caucasus, those lands are and have been a part of Russia and were not annexed or taken possession of.

The question should not be where would we be without our McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Chevrolet cars, the question should be: “What would it be like to breathe freely?”

Chicago’s teachers have reached the end of their rope in negotiating with the Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel and have for the first time in 25 years been forced to go on strike.

The Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU) announcement to go on strike Monday morning did not please the Mayor of Chicago whom many see as someone who only supports special interests and the very rich. A common complaint all over the US by those less fortunate has become louder.

As the Occupy Movement becomes more organized and the people more oppressed and at the same time less fearful as conditions grow worse, they see that they have nothing to lose.

In May of this year just before the NATO Summit and timed to coincide with May Day celebrations, Occupy Chicago and over 75 other protest groups banded together to protest numerous issues including school closures and low salaries. Of course due to the nature of May Day, chief among the issues was worker’s rights. Several Chicago area Unions took part in the demonstrations fighting not only to bring attention to key issues but for the very right to stay alive and continue to exist.

On Sunday night, after months of failed negotiations, Chicago Teacher’s Union President Karen Lewis said that: “Negotiations have been intense but productive, however we have failed to reach an agreement that will prevent a labor strike.”

Back in May I spoke to Rachael Perrotta, an Activist with Occupy Chicago and a Member of the Occupy Chicago Press Team and she said that Chicago has a serious problem with schools being outright closed and money that is meant for education going for things like the NATO Summit.

Rachael also spoke to NBC News in May and told them: "What we're seeking to do as Occupy is to become the glue that can bring all of these causes together, creating a gigantic coalition that can begin the hard work of fixing this country." She was speaking about the Occupy Movement bringing worker’s groups and unions together under one umbrella.

Having spent part of my childhood as a pupil in the Chicago Unified School District I can say one thing, conditions must be extremely bad if Chicago’s educators have decided to go on strike. Chicago has some of the toughest schools and some of the toughest kids in America. The teachers in Chicago are some of the toughest in the country and put up with conditions that are bad to begin with. If they have been pushed so far as to strike things must be completely unbearable.

One of the key issues that the Union and City are sparring about is a new system of teacher evaluation that Chicago Teacher’s Union President, Karen Lewis told the press could cause 6,000 teachers to lose their jobs within about 2 years.

The mayor Rahm Emanuel was also attempting to coerce teachers to extend the school day by 90 minutes so he could keep his campaign promise to do so, and attempted to skirt the Union and get them to ignore their contracts. The Teacher’s Union complained to the Illinois Educational Relations Board and the mayor stopped attempting to by-pass teacher contracts. However the city and the union reached a compromise in July where almost 500 laid off teachers were to be re-hired to work the extra hours required to extend the school day.

In the US teachers receive some of the lowest salaries in the country and the importance and difficult nature of their jobs in not appreciated and not rewarded as it should be. Chicago areas teachers are fortunate that they still have a union to look after their interests as many unions and labor organizations in the US are being done away with.

The CTU has 26,000 teachers who did not show up for work on Monday although according to the city a lot of concessions were made.

In the mayor’s opinion there are only two stumbling blocks left: the teacher evaluation system and the his demand that the principal of each school decide who works in the school as he is responsible for the educational level and the program in the school. Mayor Emanuel believes the Chicago Public School System (CPS) and the union should not have a hand in deciding what teachers work where.

Across the US teachers and unions are watching the situation in Chicago very closely because the issues in Chicago are issues which teachers all across the US share.

One of these is class size, which in Chicago has grown to over 40 students in a classroom. The mayor says this is not an issue but as a former educator myself and as any teacher will tell you, class size is a very important and a key issue for many different reasons, the main one being the quality of the education and learning that takes place. Giving teacher’s classes of such size and then basing their evaluations on the student’s results is a lose-lose situation for all those concerned and one which will back fire completely.

The Occupy Movement and many in the US see the rich as not doing enough for the common people and in the area of education this is clearly more evident than anywhere else. However why should the US Government promote and support quality education when a less educated population is easier to control.

This is a short-sighted strategy that is bound to lose. Quality education guarantees a prosperous future for any country, as such any country that does not value education, does not value its citizenry nor its own future.

A US film ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed has caused extreme backlash all over the Muslim world including the killing of the US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. The largest attack has occurred in Egypt but the backlash from the film is still ongoing. Official Washington does not support the message in film and has closed its missions in Libya.

On Tuesday night the US Embassy in Benghazi Libya was attacked by angry Islamists apparently set off by a film aired in America which ridiculed the Islamic Prophet Mohammed.

According to reports during the attack an embassy employee was killed and Stevens was killed along with three other Americans when the vehicle he was riding in was attacked as it neared the embassy compound.

The attack on the embassy came shortly after an attack on the US Embassy in Cairo, where demonstrators tore down an American flag in protesting a two-hour film called "Innocence of Muslims" which was produced directed and written by one Sam Bacile, reportedly a California real estate developer and an Israeli Jew.

According to reports the film apparently, openly and with ridicule, depicts the Prophet Mohammed as a false prophet and a paedophile and shows him having sex and ordering massacres. According to media reports Mr. Bacile is unapologetic, blaming the deaths at the embassy on lax security and stating that “Islam is a cancer, period”!

The film is being promoted by Quran burning “pastor” Terry Jones and one Morris Sadek who is promoting the film on US television stations. Terry Jones, as we may recall is still actively preaching religious intolerance and inciting hatred and already has the blood of Americans and others on his hands after causing massive riots all over the Muslim world with his Quran burning stunts.

Officially the US states that they are against these kinds of provocations and that they support all religions, yet nothing has been done to these individuals who are causing real blood to be shed all over the world. Even with the bloodshed and backlash on US soldiers and US personnel overseas for some reason the US Government has not seen fit to stop these individuals from inciting religious hatred.

Many in the Muslim world and people in general see this inaction by the US Government as a sign that Official Washington supports the position of extremist anti-Muslim fanatics.

The light sentences and seemingly condoning attitude that has been taken to US and NATO Forces who repeatedly desecrate and have committed war crimes against Muslims does not help the US image in the Muslim world as well.

Another area which is causing backlash against the US is the failure of the Arab Spring and the US “missions” in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The world is tired of the drone attacks, the killing of thousands of civilians, the assassinations, the torture and the military expansion of the US.

Our condolences go out to the families of those killed in the attacks on the embassy in Benghazi, but this is yet another sign that the US needs to change its policies.

In Libya the double standards and the lack of planning by the US are more to blame than the insurgents who supported the US in their war to kill Gaddafi and who then turned their weapons on those who brought them to power.

Under Gaddafi in Libya and Mubarak in Egypt, such attacks on US Embassies would never have happened. The US’ lack of foresight and advance planning in unleashing the Arab Spring and effecting regime changes all over the region is going to have a continuing and growing backlash and instead of subjugating the people and controlling the countries in question, as the US has seen in Afghanistan, the opposite will be the case.

Again we have to condemn the violence of those who see violence as the only way to fight back, and we regret the death of yet the continued meddling by the US in countries all over the world is going to continue to cause backlash and will continue to escalate.

As many experts agree, including US based expert Alon Ben Meir, the failure of the Arab Spring was that the US mistakenly thought they could bring about “democracy” overnight in countries where the people had no idea what it means.

As the peoples of the Arab Spring countries and Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya begin to see their lives become worse, their countries continue to fall apart and the “promise” of democracy to have been a lie, they will turn to the Islamists, and if provocations continue against Muslims, the attacks will grow worse.

Maybe it is time the US thought about peace and stopped trying to dictate to the world what it should do, who it should befriend, what religion to believe in and how to run their countries?

Created from a small organization by the US during the US-backed war in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union, the Haqqani network has now been classified as a terrorist organization by the US. What this means for the world at large, from a legal standpoint is really nothing, but what it means for the continuation of the endless “War on Terror” and the Bush doctrine of “Either you are with us or you are against us” may be a lot.

On Friday September 7, 2012 the Obama Administration and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed an official order which formally designates the Taliban-linked Haqqani network as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), adding yet another organization to the US terror blacklist and giving the US further justification for the “War on Terror” and further global military expansion. The move will also allow the US to seize and go after the network’s considerable resources, under US law.

Whether the designation is legal under international law is not a question the US or its allies spend any time considering, and few countries dare to question the US policy started by former US President George W. Bush of “either you are with us or you are against us.”

Official statements and extensive media reports paint a picture of reluctance on the part of the US Government to make such a move and attempt to shift the blame on intense pressure by the US Congress, something perhaps done in an attempt to dilute the effect of the designation on US-Pakistani relations.

According to Western media and open source intelligence, the Haqqani network’s operatives freely move and operate in North Waziristan and other areas of Pakistan, as well as the Paktiya, Paktika, and Khost provinces of Afghanistan. The media also reports that network operatives provide support to terrorist organizations including the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda in the form of weapons, financing, sanctuary and even militants.

The Haqqani network’s financial assets are said to be vast and widespread and come from a wide range of legal and illegal activities all across South Asia and the Middle East.

The US blames the network for attacks against the United States, NATO, and Afghan forces, including the 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul, last September's attack on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters and assassination attempts on President Hamid Karzai and others.

The move will also allow the US to label Pakistan a state that supports terrorism along with blacklisted countries such as Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria and give it another justification for the continuation of its “War on Terror”. All the US has to do is show ties between the Pakistanis and the Haqqani network - a campaign that has already started as proven by reports now beginning to circulate stating that Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence Agency is backing terrorists. One such report quotes a Pakistani doctor who reportedly helped the CIA locate Osama bin Laden , Dr Shakil Afridi, who was speaking to Fox News, the US cable network famous for being a tool for promoting less-than-true propaganda.

The problem here is that the Haqqani network, as well as al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and even the Taliban all got their start with the help of the CIA and were all at one point (and may continue to) doing the US’ bidding.

Another problem is that anyone who fights the US, no matter where they be, is being classified as terrorists. We saw this during the invasion of Afghanistan, when anyone who fought the invaders was taken to Guantanamo, and we see this today. The US’ invasion of sovereign nations without an official declaration of war requires them to do so and to make even more terrorists in order to support their endless war.

It is common knowledge now that Jalauddin Haqqani and his fighters were leading recipients of CIA funding during the CIA backed war against the Soviet Union in Pakistan. Getting their start in the 1970s, they were supported and funded by the CIA and ISI throughout the 1980s.

Just like al-Qaeda and bin Laden, who was given the code name Tom Ossman, the CIA helped to make their organizations large and powerful and now the US is now waging an endless global war to supposedly try to eradicate them, if you believe their version. The fact is that it cannot be viewed as simply the “War on Terror”. This is only a pretext for global military expansion and the “terrorists” that the US created and is apparently fighting against, give the US the reason it needs to continue its military expansion.

Throughout the years, Haqqani has developed his network extensively even receiving money, weapons and supplies from Pakistan’s ISI. After the Soviet Union left Afghanistan he even served as justice minister and minister of tribal and border affairs after the Taliban came to power in 1996. Following the US invasion of Afghanistan he then joined the Taliban.

The events leading to the designation of the Haqqani network as a terrorist group and the attempted “disowning” began in 2011, when in September, at a congressional hearing, Admiral Mike Mullen, who at the time was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to Foreign Policy “…declared that the network of Jalaluddin Haqqani was a "virtual arm" of Pakistan's top spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate.”

The same publication stated that: “Sherry Rehman, the Pakistani ambassador in Washington, brushed off the designation, calling it an internal US matter and noting that Haqqanis are not Pakistani nationals.” She went on to say, "It's not our business”, but added that Pakistan would maintain its counterterrorism cooperation with the United States.

Apparently such a designation is not seen by the Pakistanis as something that will hurt relations which are already at a low point if they can be said to exist at all after years of “incidents”. We should recall the two Pakistanis killed by a CIA contractor, the killing of 28 Pakistani soldiers on November 26, 2011, the unilateral US raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound, incidents with drones and more. All of which may have been classified as acts of war. However Pakistan would not make such a designation as it has continued to attempt to appease the US.

The latest move will allow the US to begin seizing the resources of Haqqani and will allow the US military to expand the range of their targets in the region.

Even in disowning its children, those very children are still doing their master’s bidding.

The details about the events leading up to and surrounding the killing of the US Ambassador in Benghazi continue to come in as the world’s press tries to make sense of it all. Details are coming in that the film, which is reported to have sparked the violence, may have been a carefully planned hoax. As we cannot support the desecration of the Orthodox Faith neither can we support the desecration of the Muslim Faith, but above all we cannot support the killing of innocent individuals.

Speaking to reporters in Sochi Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke out against the killing of the US Ambassador in Benghazi Libya: “We condemn this crime and offer our condolences to the victims' families. The safety of diplomats is protected by international conventions and if someone fails to recognize this, it means that they put themselves outside the framework of the law and outside the framework of modern civilization" President Putin said.

He also said that: "The religious feelings of people of all beliefs must be ‘handled very carefully’ and government reactions to religious provocation must be ‘tough and timely,’ otherwise the people who feel offended will take matters into their own hands to defend their interests and views.”

According to RIA-Novosti President Putin also used the opportunity to reiterate his argument that the West should not support popular uprisings against dictatorships in the Middle East because this could have unpredictable and hazardous consequences.

“We do not support any armed groups that attempt to resolve internal political problems by violent means.” Putin said. He added: “We do not understand these people’s final goals, and we are always worried about the possibility that if we support these armed groups, we could ultimately find ourselves in a deadlock situation. We fear that the region could fall into chaos and that is exactly what’s happening.”

Details about the film that led up to the events in Benghazi are becoming murkier and murkier. With investigative journalists all over the world discovering new details by the hour, the entire event looks like it may have all been secretly planned and orchestrated from beginning to end.

The first reports about what set off the events were of a two-hour film called "Innocence of Muslims" which was produced directed and written by one Sam Bacile, reportedly a California real estate developer and an Israeli Jew. Now things have changed, starting with the identity of the maker of the film, there are reports that nobody with such a name really exists, and there are reports from various sources that say he is not even Jewish and the whole Jewish angle was a provocation. Apparently what we do know is that the individual using the name Sam Bacile is an Egyptian, who speaks Arabic and English.

According to Yigal Palmor an official spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, speaking to the New York Times: "Nobody knows who he is, he is totally unknown in filmmaking circles in Israel, and anything he did: he is not doing it for Israel, or with Israel, or through Israel in any way." He also called the film’s maker "a complete loose cannon and an unspeakable idiot."

According to the Guardian many of the actors in the so-called “film” were tricked and lied to into thinking they were filming a simple desert saga and that much of the dialogue was dubbed in later. There is also doubt that a two hour film actually does exist and speculation that the entire work consists of only the trailer that has been posted on the internet. It appears that the whole thing may have been a hoax.

Hoax or not the results are real and blood has been shed and the Muslim world has once again been thrown into even more upheaval as if it really needed anymore.

The United States, which never charged anyone with carrying out 9-11, has reported that they already know that al-Qaeda was behind the attack. This is disturbing because the United States is reportedly using and supporting al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria and many other locations as they did in Libya when the US back-insurgents killed Muammar Gaddafi.

Apparently those who killed Ambassador Stevens knew of a US safe-house and attacked that as well, suggesting inside information which may have had to do with Steven’s reported task of liaising with insurgents, terrorist groups and possibly al-Qaeda operatives during the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. We should recall that Benghazi was the “base of operations” if you will in the invasion and overthrow of Libya. A fact which may have led to the US’ false sense of security in the city.

US Secretary of State Clinton was disbelieving saying she asked herself "how could this happen in a country we helped liberate and in a city we helped to save from destruction." A far cry from her now infamous “We came, we saw, he died!” comment on US television regarding the death of Muammar Gaddafi.

One of the groups being blamed, Ansar al Sharia – meaning Supporters of Islamic Law - which reportedly has ties to al-Qaeda, denies responsibility in the attack. Another group, known as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is also suspected in the attack.

The fact that Ambassador Stevens died of smoke inhalation, and was not shot, executed or decapitated suggests that the death may have been accidental but nevertheless this has had no influence on the US response.

The world wide reaction to the killing of Stevens is mixed and surprising for many. The solidarity with the US that was evident after 9-11 is long gone. Many blogs, social networking sites and websites are seeing an increase in the number of people who are against US policy and see this as a justified response to the brutal murder of Gaddafi and the continuing wars and meddling by the US in the Muslim world.

Many in Libya and Egypt are extremely displeased with the “democracy” they were promised after the fall of their leaders, as are many in the Arab Spring countries, where Islamic Fundamentalism is beginning to take a stronger hold over society as living and societal conditions continue to worsen.

The rioting and protests in Egypt over the film have died down but are continuing and there are fears that the anger and the outcry will spread throughout the Muslim World.

Official Washington has attempted to distance itself from the “film” which triggered the event and even with “Pastor” Terry Jones and his anti-Islamic hate speech, reaching the point that even General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Jones and asked him to withdraw his support for the film. Jones and his provocative Quran burning stunts have already been responsible for scores of deaths and riots, including the deaths of US servicemen in Afghanistan.

Official Moscow and the Russian Foreign Ministry support the fight against any kind of terrorism and have stated that this is a sign that the US and Moscow need to work closer in the fight against terrorism. Russia in no stranger to terrorism and the FSB and Russian Security Services have been extremely effective in preventing and thwarting hundreds of terrorist attacks by many of the same groups the US is fighting against.

According to NATO expert Rick Rozoff the “Alliance” is deploying two Aegis class destroyers off the coast of Libya as well as having already dispatched Marines to Benghazi and elsewhere in the nation. This includes the guided missile warship USS Laboon and the USS McFaul both equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles.

He wrote on his Stop NATO site that eight American Marines were flown into Benghazi by helicopter the day after the attack on the U.S. mission, with two of them being killed and two wounded in a fierce mortar attack on the building. Rozoff also wrote that the U.S. has deployed 50 members of the elite U.S. Marine Corps Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team to Libya.

Mr. Rozoff also wrote that: “… with NATO's military operations from the Balkans to Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa, one armed conflict inevitable gives way to another and the Western military bloc continues to execute plans to expand into a global military strike force.”

American politicians have for the most part been neutral towards the current administration and have refrained from placing blame or pointing the finger, most that is except Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney, who attempted to misconstrue statements made by the US Embassy in Cairo and gain political mileage from the event.

The statement in Cairo was released before the events and read read: "The embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions."

Romney decided to take the statement out of context and say that the entire Obama Administration and the US Government were attempting to appease the terrorists and sympathize with them, recall the statement was released before the attacks in both Egypt and Benghazi.

Romney’s Tuesday night statement read: “I'm outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi. It's disgraceful that the Obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”

Many Republicans distanced themselves from the statement as it was an outright lie.

The Guardian quoted “a very senior Republican foreign policy hand" as saying “They were just trying to score a cheap news cycle hit based on the embassy statement and now it's just completely blown up, the statement was an ‘utter disaster’".

Protests against the US film Innocence of Muslims have begun to spread all over the world. There have been attacks on US Embassies worldwide as Muslim anger against US policies and meddling has continued to fuel the anger. The protests involving hundreds of thousands have remained for the most part peaceful with most of the most serious violence directed at US Embassies, businesses and in one case an American school was burnt down. Since the murders in Benghazi (Libya) there have been no reports of violence against Americans.

Mass protests by Muslims continue to spread to more and more countries as outrage in the Islamic words escalates due to the trailer of a US film ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed called the Innocence of Muslims which appeared on the Internet.

Although the film was the spark that lit the flames of the violence, massive longstanding grievances and anger against the US and their attempts to force their policies on countries worldwide as well as the US’ constant meddling into affairs in Muslim world are now serving to feed the escalating violence. The deep socioeconomic problems in Arab Spring countries, something that has not been addressed is also playing into the hands of Islamists and adding more fuel to the crisis.

All over the world governments are asking Muslims to show restraint and not to escalate the level of violence.

On Friday the protests spread from Egypt and Libya to other countries including Israel, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen. There were also widespread protests in countries outside the Middle East region, including but not limited to: Bangladesh, Kashmir, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Qatar.

In Jerusalem a protest near the Damascus Gate turned violent when protesters began throwing rocks at police. Apparently the protesters began to head in the direction of the US Consulate and were stopped by police using shock grenades.

According to Ynet news there were protests in Akko, in the Wadi Ara region and in the towns of Baqa al-Gharbia and Umm al-Fahmm, which were for the most part peaceful.

Yemen saw some of the most violent protests with reports saying that security forces killed four protesters who were rioting near the US embassy in Yemen.

In Khartoum hundreds of protesters stormed the German Embassy and set it on fire. Police used teargas to dispel the protesters who then began protesting outside the British Embassy nearby.

In Kashmir, in some of the largest anti-American demonstrations so far, at least 15,000 people took part in dozens of protests, chanting "Down with America," "Down with Israel" and calling US president Barack Obama a "terrorist." The country’s top cleric has demanded Americans leave the region immediately.

In Chennai, protesters threw stones at the US consulate, shattering some windows and burned an effigy of Obama. Police arrested more than 100 protesters.

In Bangladesh, about 5,000 people marched in Dhaka burning US and Israeli flags and calling for the death of the film-maker. Police stopped them from reaching the US Embassy.

In Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation in the world, protests were extremely peaceful as only about 200 protesters held a peaceful protest outside the heavily guarded US embassy in Jakarta.

There were more protests in Tehran including demonstrations outside the Swiss embassy (which represents US interests in Iran). Reports say Ayatollah Jannati, the head of the Guardian Council, denounced the anti-Muslim film during Friday prayers.

Three protesters were killed outside the US embassy in Tunis, where demonstrators attempted to enter the compound. The demonstrators included ordinary Tunisians and Salafist activists. An American school was also set on fire.

One demonstrator was killed by security forces in Tripoli as protesters attempted to storm a government building. An American Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant was also burned down.

In Damascus hundreds of protesters gathered outside US embassy holding a peaceful demonstration. Protesters carried images of President Bashar al-Assad and chanted anti-American slogans.

Hundreds of protesters attempted to march towards the US embassy in Islamabad and were stopped by police far from the city’s diplomatic quarter where the embassy is located.

Protesters filled the streets of Doha and lined the city’s main highway. No violence has been reported.

In closing I would personally like to ask all Muslims to show restraint and demonstrate peacefully as this was another provocation. Those who made the film want to see violence and want you to over-react. If you react violently you will be playing into their hands.

Thousands of striking miners in South Africa have refused a minor salary increase offer and have vowed to continue their strike against UK based Lonmin PLC. Workers at other platinum mines are said to be striking as well amid fears that the strikes may spread to the gold mining industry. It is a classic struggle between the workers and the bosses, yet the level of violence from both sides is alarming and continues to grow.

The wildcat strike by miners working for the London-based Lomnin PLC in Marikana South Africa continues to worsen with mine management continuing to refuse to make concessions to the miners and the miners refusing a minimal pay increase offer by management.

Almost a month ago workers at the Marikana mine and one at Karee, south of Johannesburg launched a wildcat strike in protest of low wages. The strike led to what is now known as the "Marikana Massacre" the single most lethal use of force by the South African security forces since 1960 and the end of apartheid. On August 16th the security forces killed 34 miners and wounded at least 78 more.

According to reports from the scene of the massacre the strikers were cordoned into a small area when police opened fire and were far from police lines when the massacre occurred. People at the scene claimed, and the evidence shows that the police hunted down the miners, cornered them, and instead of arresting them, opened fire.

Several thousand miners at Anglo American Platinum, another key supplier of platinum, also have gone on strike and the company has had to close its four Rustenburg mines.

The two companies make billions of dollars and account for a large share of the world’s platinum supplies with 80% of the world’s know platinum reserves located in South Africa which also accounts for close to a fourth of the world’s mined gold. Lonmin itself reportedly accounts for 12% of the world’s supply of platinum. There are fears that the strikes may lead to unrest in the gold sector as well.

The managers and owners of the company make millions and the company could well afford to raise wages but they are not concerned with the conditions that the workers face and are afraid an increase in salaries would cut their bottom line. Reflecting the days of Apartheid is the fact that the management of the mines is almost exclusively white, with the miners being almost exclusively black.

Although the miners are only asking for a pay raise there are many other conditions at the mines and in their living arrangements that are well below accepted norms.

Claims that the miners already earn more than the average are hollow as their living conditions, ones of poverty and squalor, in no way reflect the “affluence” that officials try to portray they possess. The workers currently want approximately $1,500 a month, three times more than they are making now which is about $500.

Most of the miners come from other areas so they do not have homes near Marikana. Many of them also have families back home, who they are trying to support and send money to, while living with friends or in extremely bad conditions. The mines do provide some minimal support but it is not enough to allow for a normal existence.

The Bench Marks Foundation which calls itself: “…a unique organization in the area of corporate social responsibility”, says that despite all of the billions being made in the mining operations the benefits are not being shared by the miners and the surrounding communities.

The organization claims there are no employment opportunities for local youth, people live in sub-human conditions, there is high unemployment and there are conditions of growing inequality in the surrounding communities. In short the workers are exploited and the conditions under which they live and work do not reflect the huge profits that are being made.

According to International Labor Organization, a specialized agency of the UN for the miners the conditions are appalling and dangerous. The organization reported that the miners “… are exposed to a variety of safety hazards including falling rocks, exposure to dust, intensive noise, fumes and high temperatures, among others.” Yet the miners are only demanding a salary increase.

The strike has also brought to the forefront the internal struggle of the ANC and their close connections to the mining elite with some saying the strikes may affect President Jacob Zuma’s chance of being re-elected in an internal ANC election coming up in December.

The strikes also serve to underline growing worldwide displeasure by the working and the middle class with the power elites and big business who are not looking after the interests of the people but are only interested in making themselves rich.

The situation for the Roma in Europe is not improving. Trapped in a cycle of discrimination and poverty where they are not allowed a decent education and therefore cannot obtain decent jobs and in many cases segregated, not allowed proper health care and under constant attacks by ever increasing nationalist groups all over Europe, many turn to crime, prostitution and any other means they can to simply survive. This only reinforces the negative view of the Roma and leads to even more discrimination against them.

The Hungarian Roma community, which accounts for approximately 7% of Hungary’s population, continues to face discrimination in every aspect of their lives. Since a report issued by Amnesty International in 2009 little has changed for Hungary’s Roma, they still face discrimination and segregation in all areas of life. This includes public education, housing, employment and medical care.

The Roma not only face daily racism and discrimination but they have to contend with violent attacks by nationalist and neo-Nazi groups such as the illegal paramilitary Hungarian National Guard, which was disbanded by the Hungarian government but reformed and continues to grow. It is for the most part an anti-Roman organization whose members have included high level Hungarian officials in the past.

Last month the Hungarian Guard held an inauguration ceremony for 140 new members in a secret location in Dunaföldvár Hungary. Although the police came out in force, with over 300 officers taking part in an operation to shut down the ceremony and arrest members, the group managed to confuse police with decoys and misleading phone calls, and the police raided a location where none of the group’s members were actually present.

The discrimination of the Roma is by far not limited to Hungary, they face discrimination all over Europe but the reason that I am focusing on the Hungarian Roma is because soon they may have no place to go as many who were seeking asylum in Canada are being sent back and the doors for Roma asylum seekers in Canada are about to be all but closed.

With the passing of the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, a Canadian piece of legislation that some are calling the “anti-Roma law, the process for the Roma obtaining asylum will be all but impossible and their deportation will be much easier and quicker.

According to Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney, in a report on the cic.gc.ca website; “This legislation will help stop foreign criminals, human smugglers and those with unfounded refugee claims from abusing Canada’s generous immigration system and receiving taxpayer funded health and social benefits. Canada’s immigration and refugee system is one of the most fair and generous in the world and will continue to be so under the new and improved system.”

In reality the law will stop the waves of Roma that had begun to arrive in Canada and were abusing the system, often by returning to Hungary and still receiving benefits from the Canadian government. But the reason they return is not so simple as the government wants to portray. For many of the Roma they have no choice, many arrived in Canada with the hope for a better life but were trapped in conditions that were worse than the ones that they had left another example of the vicious cycle that the Roma are trapped in.

The new law now allows the Canadian Government the option of adding countries to a safe list in order to speed up the processing of refugees and deporting them. If a refugee comes from a country on the list, their claim will be processed in 45 days, not the 1,000 days that the other claimants have.

Such a move may help Canada to implement a universal no-visa policy for the entire European Union, something it currently does not have. For example Hungarians do not require a visa to travel to Canada but Czechs do. Their non-visa status was revoked due to the number of Roma claims for asylum.

According to the Budapest times the Canada Border Services Agency has recently reported that they are worried about the rising level of crime being committed by Hungarian Roma refugees in the country, these crimes mainly include skimming fraud and check fraud with a rising level of cases where checks are stolen and deposited into the bank accounts of refugee claimants who returned to Hungary.

The Budapest Times reported last year that the head of the National Roma Self-Government Flórián Farkas was warned by the Canadian Ambassador in Budapest, that Roma travelling to Canada “face prolonged and complicated procedures and have little chance of their asylum application being successful.”

So for the Roma seeking a better life and to break the cycle discrimination which starts with poor education, poor medical care and poor housing and continues and leads to job discrimination and no chance for quality employment and the betterment of their lives due to the previous reasons, another door appears to have been closed due to the actions of some who have supposedly cheated the system.

Unfortunately for the Roma the vicious cycle they are trapped in may not have an exit.

The recent upheavals in the world have taken attention away from a very important move by US President Obama that could strip away another large chunk of freedom from Americans and place another huge and important piece of the public domain under government and corporate control. President Obama has circulated an executive order that will implement measures that have already failed to pass Congress and were contained in the failed Cybersecurity Act of 2012. Again the pretense for stripping away freedoms is “security” and again the attackers are China and Russia.

Whenever the US issues another order or law regarding “security” the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Why? Because this means that even more rights and civil liberties will be stripped away from the people and even more power will be had by the government.

Reports say that the Obama Administration is currently drafting what is called in the US, an executive order, giving the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the power and the responsibility to establish standards of cybersecurity that would protect banks, water plants, telecommunication networks and the U.S. power grid from electronic attacks.

On the surface and to those who know little about the real cyber attacks, the program dubbed Perfect Citizen, looks like something that is needed and should have been implemented yesterday, but hold on a minute, the devil is in the details and in who is behind the plans, namely the most secret of the secret US Security structures, the National Security Agency or NSA.

The problem with that for US citizens and in general is that it would give an intelligence agency control over a public system which may be an area of expertise by the NSA, responsible for signals and electronic security, but goes against the NSA directive not to spy on US citizens.

The plan which has wide-ranging implications and will basically allow the government to take control over the electronic grid, and this includes the internet, is deemed necessary by its proponents because the power grid of the United States is supposedly vulnerable and under constant cyber-attack. However this is far from the truth.

According to Michael Tanji over at Wired, first of all the networks in question, power grids and the public water supply systems are rarely if ever connected to wide area networks and the public internet. Secondly the operating and control systems they use are often proprietary, meaning they have no publically or even privately available analogues that are available and accessible to the public or to hackers who can reverse engineer them and find weaknesses or vulnerabilities that they can exploit.

So the law is not needed and the rationale behind it is false then why attempt to pass the law, bypassing the legislative branch, by using an executive order to do so? First of all because a similar bill failed to be passed into law earlier this year and second of all for the reason I have already stated, it would allow the US Government to take control of the internet and the public electronic grid which includes almost all forms of modern communications.

According to propaganda put out by the continuously more powerful Department of Homeland Security there are constant attacks that target everything from the US power grid to nuclear power plants.

Even scarier is information being disseminated by the National Security Agency itself. A report published byReuters quotes the head of NSA's Information Assurance Directorate, Debora Plunkett when asked how real the threat of hacking from China, Russia and other countries was, as saying: "Significant. I don't know how else to describe it."

Even worse she said that: "Some of today's national cyber actors don't seem to be bound by any sense of restraint." Meaning state sponsored cyber-attacks are out of control and state actors behave recklessly.

Again the White House is demonizing China and Russia which they claim are attempting to commit computer espionage in a wide range of areas and for wide ranging reasons. This and other false propaganda about massive attacks on critical infrastructure is designed to terrify the American populace into giving away even more of their freedoms and rights, yet despite this the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 failed and there are not public cries begging for more “protection”.

According to the US media the Obama executive order bears a striking resemblance to the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 which failed to be passed by Congress. Many also say that an executive order in this instance violates Article 1, Section 1 of the US Constitution which says: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” Nowhere in the US Constitution does it say that if a bill is not passed the president can single-handedly decide to make a law himself.

The practice of using executive orders is a controversial one which many see as a tool of an “Imperial President” as they allow the president to unilaterally and without oversight or public debate pass laws that may not be in the public interest. Former US President George Bush was famous for issues such orders many making crimes such as torture illegal after the fact and other designed to protect him and his administration from bothersome oversight, such as an executive order limited access to presidential papers.

The greatest fear regarding this executive order is that a partnership between the government and corporations under the guise of “security” to jointly control the entire US electronic grid is a step to merging corporate and state power, a condition which is better known as corporate fascism.

The death toll from protests against the US film “The Innocence of Muslims” continues to rise as protests continue to spread unabated around the world. Instead of calling for an end to the senseless violence and promoting peaceful protests many Islamic extremist organizations are calling for an even greater level of violence and for taking revenge.

The death toll from the worldwide protest against the American film that ridicules the Muslim prophet Mohammed, “The Innocence of Muslims” has continued to rise and currently stands at 14 according to the International Business Times. The latest deaths have occurred in Tunisia where 2 protestors were killed. Lebanese media reports that 1 person was killed in Tripoli, in Sudan 2 were killed and in Yemen 5 more people were killed in demonstrations around US Embassies.

As we reported earlier the demonstrations have continued to spread to other countries, and have now engulfed over 20 countries including European countries. The attacks on specific locations serving Western interests have not only been on US Consulates but have also included the diplomatic missions of Germany and other foreign countries and even in some cases locations such as a KFC restaurant.

Although the spark that lit the fire of Muslim rage around the world is the abysmal hack-job-of-a-film “The Innocence of Muslims” the underlying reasons have been simmering under the surface for decades. Unfortunately the backlash has led to the loss of more life and more bloodshed and violence and has once again served to focus the world’s attention not on the positive aspects of the Islamic faith but on the violence that they are capable of committing when pushed to it.

To truly understand the seeds of Muslim rage one must go back decades, to the Iran hostage crisis in the 1970’s, the original war in Afghanistan where the Soviet Union was asked to intervene and where the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Ossama Bin Laden were created and funded by the CIA and the West.

The reasons for their rage are many multi-layered and complex and would require a book to go into all of them properly, but chief among them is the discrimination and xenophobia that Muslims have to face worldwide. Other reasons may be oppressive regimes, poor living conditions in many of their countries, lack of education, dogmatic rules and inflexible teachings and a propensity for the acceptance of violence in the name of their religion, whether openly admitted or not. Add to all that constant and persistent US meddling into the internal affairs of countries worldwide, in particular those in the Islamic world, western resources wars, aggressive invasions of sovereign Islamic nations, the extra-judiciary executions of leaders and a US foreign policy that is disrespectful of, and ignores cultural differences and strives to propagate its own agenda and superimpose its own image on how people of the world should behave and act, and you have what you see today.

The world, for the most part, and the international community agree that the killing of the US Ambassador in Benghazi was an abysmal and abhorrent act and one that must be punished but the US did not have clean hands in Libya in particular, in facts their hands were dripping with blood. The film in question is therefore just the spark that lit the fuse that set off the bomb of Muslim rage.

The debate, if the largely one-sided argument can be called that, in the US and in other countries has begun whether this was a matter of freedom of speech. Which seems odd to me because normally freedom of speech stops when you begin inciting people into committing acts of violence or provoking a reaction by insulting or demeaning their beliefs, character, race or religion.

Here with have a fundamental debate that the world should be focused on. Where does “freedom” end and defamation begin? Freedom comes with great responsibilities and people like Terry Jones, Pussy Riot, Femen and the makers of this film are clearly as ignorant to this fact as are their “protests” and abuses, under the color of “freedom”.

The hypocrisy and self-serving nature of some espousing “freedom of speech” is deafening and needs to be addressed, and this nowhere more evident than in the US and in US policy worldwide.

In a free and democratic world there cannot be one country dictating and super-imposing its beliefs on the rest of the planet. When my freedom treads on the freedom of my neighbor that is where that freedom ends. However this requires thought, restraint and above all and foremost, respect for those who are different from us. This is not evident in US policy, which tends to hold the vein that “You will do as we say, or we will destroy you.” This is true in US policy worldwide, the cowboy diplomacy George Bush, and the either you are with us or against us has no place in the modern world, unless we are to submit to a global dictatorship by America.

Dr. Todd Green, who runs a blog at the Huffington Post, said it well in a piece on the topic: “We must go beyond the facile media explanations about intolerant Muslims and start to explore the complex political, economic, historical, and cultural circumstances that have contributed to these particular protests that are taking place in these particular geographies. And we must not be afraid to ask uncomfortable questions about how all of these circumstances have contributed to some of the frustrations and disillusionment that many in the Middle East have when it comes to their perceptions of the U.S. and its involvement in the region.”

Glenn Greenwald at the UK’s Guardian wrote an article on the free speech aspect and said: “… the US and its western allies have, in the name of combating terrorism, engaged in free speech assaults aimed primarily at Muslims which are far more dangerous…” “… with these same right-wing free speech champions remaining utterly silent, except when cheering it all on.” He proceeded to give an example of a young Muslim who was arrested and on terrorism charges for posting something similar on the internet which again shows the utter hypocrisy of US policy, the young many faces 23 years in prison.

Back to the current situation, Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah have called for even more attacks on US interests with Al-Qaeda urging even more violence and praising the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi and according to zeenews.com Hezbollah “seeking to foment the anger in Muslims.”

According to zeenews, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said that the US must be held accountable for the film. Nasrallah also called on the leaders of the Muslim world to take action and said: “We should not only express our anger at an American embassy here or there. We should tell our rulers in the Arab and Muslim world that it is ‘your responsibility in the first place’ and since you officially represent the governments and states of the Muslim world you should impose on the United States, Europe and the whole world that our prophet, our Quran and our holy places and honor of our Prophet be respected.”

Other Muslim leaders are attempting to defuse the anger of Muslims, with the site philstar.com reporting that: “The top cleric in US ally Saudi Arabia denounced the film but said it can’t really hurt Islam” and the head of the Sunni Muslim world’s pre-eminent religious institution, Egypt’s Al-Azhar, backed peaceful protests but said Muslims should counter the movie by reviving Islam’s moderate ideas.

Meanwhile the First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said."The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns this inappropriate and offensive action," "Certainly it will search for, track, and pursue this guilty person who has insulted 1.5 billion Muslims in the world."

Also in Iran the 15 Khordad Foundation a government backed religious foundation has raised the reward for killing the author of the book, “The Satanic Verses” Salman Rushide by $500,000 and it now stands at $3.3 million. The have said the person who fulfills the 1989 fatwa will receive the money immediately.

While the producer of the film has gone into hiding, one of the film’s main promoters, Terry Jones, has been denied entry into Germany. According to Der Spiegel Jones was banned from entering Germany after a far-right hate group, Pro Deutschland, announced plans of inviting him to a showing of the film. The German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle had requested the ban on the grounds that Jones was a "hate preacher" and a German Interior Ministry spokesman said Jones’ visit "runs counter to the interest of maintaining public order."

Der Spiegel also said Deutsche Welle reported that the group that had invited Jones had held rallies near mosques in Berlin, where they “displayed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad…”

Once again I personally would like to plea to all who are offended by this, do not resort to violence, you will just be playing into the hands of those who promote hate.

In the Mexican state of Coahuila 131 prisoners have escaped through a tunnel that was months in the making. The circumstances point to another case where corrupt officials and prison guards are suspected of involvement, underlining the need for reforms and the vetting of Mexico’s law enforcement officials. The problem is one that affects not only Mexico but the international community as well.

Another massive prison break in Mexico has the world focused once again on Mexico’s ongoing war against vicious drug gangs and battling drug lords.

The facts that we know are as follows; 131 inmates escaped from the prison in Piedras Negras in the Mexican state of Coahuila, a city near the US border close to Eagle Pass Texas. They apparently used a 21 feet (6.5 meters) long and 4 feet (1.2 meters) wide tunnel that had been under construction for some time and it is suspected that prison officials may have been involved or had knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the escape.

According to reports the prison housed less than 800 inmates and was not overcrowded, leading to further speculation as to the involvement of the guards since the number of escapees amounted to about a 5th of the prison’s entire population.

A public safety official in Coahuila, Jorge Luis Moran, said that the escape was the work of the Zetas drug cartel and that even prisoners who were not members of the cartel were forced to go along, reported Daily Mail quoting Associated Press.

Mexican media alleged that the Zeta cartel is engaged in a battle over the illegal narcotics corridor into the United States, through which millions of dollars worth of drugs enters the US, with the Sinaloa cartel run by drug lord Joaquin Guzman who is at the top of Mexico’s most wanted list. The Zeta cartel has been hit hard by the federal police and its members are dwindling due to arrests and fatal shootings, so the Mexican authorities believe the escape was planned to refill the ranks of the cartel.

In a statement released on Twitter the President of Mexico Felipe Calderon said that the escape was a deplorable act and that the vulnerability of state law enforcement institutions must be corrected.

The Daily Beast’s Christine Pelisek writes that the terrain through which the tunnel was dug was rocky and would have required special tools and equipment to cut through, pointing to further collusion between the prison officials and the escapees.

The escape once again brings to the forefront the absolute corruption that exists at the state level in Mexico underlined by the fact that this is by far not the first time that such a bold prison escape has taken place in recent years.

The current mass escape is also the second in recent history where over a hundred inmates escaped. The other such escape occurred in December 2010, when 153 inmates escaped from a prison in Nuevo Laredo, which ended with 41 guards being sentenced on charges related to aiding and abetting the criminals.

Another brutal escape occurred in February when 30 inmates escaped from a prison in Monterrey murdering 44 rival gang members in the process, afterwards 9 guards admitted to having aided them.

For the president and the federal authorities in Mexico the rampant corruption at the state level continues to be one of the most pressing problems in the country and the largest internal threat to Mexico’s national security.

The federal authorities in Mexico understand the need for reforms and have attempted to correct the situation by introducing mandatory background checks and drug testing for federal, state and local law enforcement officers and agents. To date the results have been dismal at all levels, with the numbers showing just how serious the situation is.

Speaking to the press on Monday Mexico’s Federal Secretary of the Interior Alejandro Poire said that progress in vetting the nations officers was slow. He said that out of the over 430,000 police officers at the state level and lower only 180,000 have undergone the vetting process and out of those approximately 65,000 had failed to pass the tests.

At the federal level the numbers are equally dismal with 2,045 federal officers out of approximately 36,000, failing the tests since 2006 and of those only 302 being fired. Under the guidelines set forth in the vetting program any officer at any level who fails the tests is supposed to be fired.

The authorities say that due to Mexico’s labor laws and the lack of new recruits, it is impossible to fire everyone who fails the tests. This means that Mexico has over 67,000 officers working on the front lines who are not able to pass simple background checks and the vetting process, and this is only after less than half have been tested.

This serious lack of a secure internal security apparatus is a grave threat to Mexico’s national security. As Mexico is the main gateway for most of the narcotics and contraband traffic into the ever consuming US “market” this is also a problem at the international level as it only helps to sustain the flow of illegal narcotics from all over the world into the US, the world’s largest and most lucrative consumer.

The transport corridors through Mexico allow growers, suppliers and criminal groups worldwide, from Afghanistan to Columbia, to get their products to their consumers.

This means that the international community has a vested interest in assisting Mexico if there is ever going to be an end to the illegal narcotics trade. Something that is highly unlikely as long as the money flows with the blow.

The number of green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan is increasing amid widespread rioting over the American film “The Innocence of Muslims” as the US attempts to make a saving face drawdown of troops from the country. Cooperation between “coalition” troops and the Afghans is being cut back as the attacks continue, yet the US is still trying to paint a different picture of their failure in Afghanistan.

The western media reports that this year alone there have been 37 attacks on the US, and its NATO and want-to-be-NATO allies, all part of George Bush’s coalition of the willing engaged in their endless world war on terror.

Just like at the beginning of the invasion when the US and the Western media reacted with horror and indignation anytime the Afghans fought back, branding them enemy combatants then terrorists and hauling them off to their illegal torture prison, outside of the jurisdiction of international law, in Guantanamo Bay Cuba, the media in the West still don’t seem to get it. They continue to react with shock and indignation whenever the Afghan “allies,” yes that is the term they use now for the countrymen of the country they invaded, attack the "coalition" forces.

Let’s stop for a minute here and put things into the proper perspective. Unlike the Soviet Union, whose intervention was officially requested by the Afghan Government, the United States and NATO were never asked to enter the country, that’s one, two: the invasion of Afghanistan, and that is what it was no matter how the West hates to admit it, was never sanctioned internationally or even within the US, and Afghanistan never threatened the US, never committed an act of aggression against the US warranting invasion, and last and most importantly was never involved in the questionable events of 9-11.

The Western media says that the attacks by Afghan “allies” have killed 51 “international service members” this year with 12 attacks in August leaving 15 dead. Yet nowhere can you find an accurate body count of the innocent Iraqi people, including women and children who have died at the hands of the coalition. This is simple to explain and is part of the US propaganda war, the people back in Kansas don’t want to hear about it, the Afghan people are an abstraction, less than human, their lives do not count as much as those of the “coalition” forces. If the American people were to find out what the US is really doing in Afghanistan, they might become upset and call for an end to the military adventure.

The US’ vested interest in hiding the truth, including about Afghanistan, is obvious by the US reaction to Wikileaks, Bradley Manning, yours truly, and anyone else who gets too close to the truth. The war should be over soon, you may think, at least that is what they want you to believe, not hardly, despite the fact that the US is to announce that 33,000 troops who were part of the “surge” three years ago, have left the country this actually means nothing. The number of troops will remain at close to invasion level with 68,000 US troops still in-country. That is the great pull-out?

The western media doesn’t mention this very real and provable fact, they continue to complain about Afghan "attacks," either they just doesn’t get it or they actually believe what they are writing when it comes to Afghanistan.

This is completely understandable, no one in the US wants to hear that they illegally invaded and decimated a country for no real reason, or at least not for the reasons they were lied to about and led to believe. No one wants to hear that their presence is not wanted and that they are aggressors and invaders: invaders who attacked one of the poorest and most defenseless countries in the world illegally and on false pretext and then stayed there for more than a decade killing the population without being able to claim any kind of a victory.

The media in the West complains that the spike in “insider” attacks is somehow souring relations between the US and its Afghan allies who are fighting side by side. Against whom? Against other Afghan people. The once-CIA-backed Taliban? The reality is that the US invaded their country, and is killing their people, so how is it that an Afghan could, in their right mind, fight alongside the invaders? Well apparently many are now taking the first chance they have to fight back. Not against their Afghan brothers and sisters but against the invaders.

This is something the US just doesn’t seem to understand. Even if there weren’t thousands of cases of innocent civilians being killed and the constant “scandals” that go unpunished, incidents of urinating on corpses, collecting body parts as trophies and the like, the US would never be welcomed in the country. They are invaders.

The latest in a spate of what are now called “green-on-blue” attacks an Afghan soldier in Helmand province opened fire on a vehicle he believed was driven by NATO soldiers slightly wounding a foreign staff member. Also on Sunday, an Afghan police officer shot and killed four American troops in Zabul and on Saturday a member of a government-backed militia killed two British troops, also in Helmand.

Of course the escalation in violence and attacks against the Americans is being painted in a different light by officials and the press and Instead of admitting that they are completely losing control of the country and the situation for them is growing worse by the day, people like U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, are attempting to paint the increase in attacks as a sign of the decrease in power by the attackers. Panetta said while visiting Japan that the “… insider attacks are the last gasp of a Taliban insurgency that has not been able to regain lost ground.” So the fact that they are attacking more means that they are in fact weaker? Ahem. Okay, but sorry, if you call a black kettle white it is still black.

Further underlining the US military adventure’s failure in Afghanistan and in their meddling in the Muslim world in general, on Tuesday September 18th a woman wearing a suicide vest blew herself up on a minibus in Kabul killing 12 people including 7 foreigners. According to reports the dead were mostly Russian and South African nationals. Apparently the attack was in protest of the infamous film “The Innocence of Muslims”.

In Kabul thousands of protestors clashed with police over the same film, in violence that was even worse that the outbreak that occurred at the beginning of the year over the burning of Korans by US troops.

On Monday NATO reported that it has cut the number of joint operations with Afghan soldiers and policemen in order to lessen the chance of insider attacks. This is the second such order given recently which further flies in the face of the claim that they are fighting "shoulder to shoulder" with the Afghans.

The Pentagon, for its part, has "suspended most joint field operations with Afghan forces because so many Americans are being killed by the men they are training" according to CBS News reports. This comes on the heels of a decision to end all joint patrols and operations without first obtaining approval from the command structure.

The Government of the Russian Federation has been forced to take measures against US interests to protect its sovereignty and after allowing USAID to operate freely on the territory of the Russian Federation for 20 years has informed the organization that, as of October 1st, it is no longer welcome. USAID has proven that its stated objectives are not keeping with its real activities in the country, activities which have served to undermine Russia and advance US interests.

As the reaction the US film “The Innocence of Muslims” continues to rage on worldwide I have to wonder as to “The Innocence of the Americans” who have made the film, distributed it and refuse to take it down. Hard questions have to be asked in light of the fact that the popularity and support of the “War on Terror” is waning and the fact that it is an election year.

Are we to believe such a massive provocation is the work of some idiot working on his own in California or is there something else behind the whole affair?

Many experts and observers around the world believed that the worldwide anti-American protests that were set off by the US film “The Innocence of Muslims,” would have died down by now but as they cool off in one country they continue to spread to others and in some to gain strength and severity.

Decades of anti-US sentiment brought about by the US meddling in Muslim countries and constant insults to, double-standards towards, attacks on and disrespect for, the Muslim people have been brought to the surface and apparently this “Genie” which refuses to go quietly back into its bottle has become a juggernaut of rage against America.

Although the US would like to continue to paint a picture of blameless virtuousness and holier-than-thou innocence, the paint is beginning to run and the mosaic of intolerance, ignorance, double-standards and just plain pompous arrogance lying below the surface is being revealed.

The dossier on US wars in the Muslim world and its gung-ho meddling and subversion, brutal regime change and nation-building, or rather destroying, is now so voluminous that it is would require its own library to properly catalogue. Just as with the invasions of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, the world is seeing the result of, and paying the price for, US short-sightedness, lack of advance planning and any sort of care or foresight when it comes to the consequences of its actions.

The film “The Innocence of Muslims” should have been justifiably and rightfully titled, “The Stupidity of Americans” for that it was it has shown, both in the internal US dialogue and the external “diplomacy” that has ensued after the “film’s” debut. However even if the US had reacted thoughtfully and fairly and shown respect for those of the Islamic faith and those who were justifiably outraged, there is serious doubt that the current blow-back could have been prevented, such respect and thoughtfulness should have been part of US diplomacy decades ago. People the world over have long memories as opposed to the three-minute-attention-span of the average American which is something the US obviously forgets.

Even more sinister might be the Machiavellian possibility that this is something the US counts on. If we take a minute to consider the fact that the US has become a country embroiled in and hopeless trapped in a self-propagating worldwide endless war against a methodology “terror” which can never be eradicated in all its guises, a war that needs constant fuel to keep its fires roaring, then we can postulate that this was a carefully planned means of continuing the endless cycle of violence that the US is feeding on.

When events such as these take place, and events such as 9-11, I always ask the question; “Who does it benefit?” The answer may not be a pretty one but time and time again, the answer seems to be the US military industrial complex and the endless war on terror. A war used as a pretext for taking control of resources, making billions in re-building shattered countries and promoting the furthering the US militarization and the taking over of the entire planet.

According to the Pak Tribune reporting on an interview Hafiz Saeed an extremist cleric and the purported terrorist mastermind behind the 2008 attack on the Indian city of Mumbai, which he gave to Reuters, “Obama should have ordered steps to remove the film from the Internet instead of defending freedom of expression in America.” According to Saeed: "Obama's statements have caused a religious war, this is a very sensitive issue and it is not going to be resolved soon. Obama's statement has started a cultural war."

This may be true in part but the statement is extremely nearsighted and historically hollow. The fact of the matter is that the so-called-religious-war has been going on for decades and was transformed into its present overt state by George Bush using the events of 9-11 as a catalyst. Whether you call it a religious war, resource wars or steps towards global military domination the end result is the same.

As for the protests over the film; they have spread to Bangkok, Greece, India, Iran, Ireland and Nigeria and are now targeting French institutions and even Google, which has not taken the video down.

If you are engaged in an endless war on terror that is losing popularity then you need to foment as much hate and breed as many “terrorists” as possible. The only way to beat such a strategy is to ignore the provocations. You can’t fight a war if there are no enemies, no matter how hard you try to create them yourself. Or can you?

The amount of information available is growing which points to the fact USAID is much more than it seems and that it is deeply intertwined, if not in fact an integral part, of the CIA. According to the Global Intelligence Files at Wikileaks one of the most overt cases of USAID interference and proof positive that it is in fact engaged in activities that are far beyond what it claims to be doing, was recently uncovered and involves the financing of subversive operations in Cuba.

It is sometimes difficult for people to understand and accept the sheer magnitude of the murderous and criminal things that the American government is capable of doing. Many people are ready to turn a blind eye and would rather be ignorant when they are presented evidence of monstrosities being committed by their government, labeling anyone who dares to question the official line as a kook or a conspiracy freak. We saw this with 9-11, when respected and educated structural engineers, architects, scientists and eyewitnesses reported on facts which brought the official version into question and these people lost their jobs, their freedom and many, their lives.

While investigating some of the activities of USAID (at the start this article was to be about their meddling in Russia) I learned more and more about what they actually do and the picture continues to become more horrible with each new revelation.

The activities of USAID in the past include everything from secret and even overt sterilization programs to facilitate selective control of certain race groups and peoples, population control experimentation using disease and even famine and even subverting governments and sovereign nations through the manipulation of educational institutions, critical infrastructure and using the most vulnerable segments of populations as tools to fulfill their own secret agendas.

This may sound bad enough but it gets worse, much worse. Not only is USAID a tool of the CIA and an instrument to bring about the fulfillment of the black operations of remorseless and conscious less monsters but it is a tool disguising itself as an innocent “friend” and a promoter of the more nobler aspirations of mankind. It is among other things a “tool” which finances terrorists and terrorist acts which kill innocent people.

This is clear in Cuba, which has been the target for US terrorism. Not only what might be called “state sponsored terrorism”, but as operation Northwoods showed the world, state planned, financed and executed terrorism. Sure project Northwoods was stopped by Kennedy, and it may be one of the reasons he was assassinated, but new evidence once again shows that the US Government will do whatever it takes to meet their objectives.

If you are not familiar with Project Northwoods it involved the US Government staging real terrorist acts in the United States, killing untold numbers of US citizens, blowing up airliners, sinking warships and staging various attacks on US properties and military installations and then placing the blame on Cuba, so that it could then invade the small Caribbean nation.

The projects details are strangely reminiscent of the events of 9-11. Project Northwoods passed through the entire chain of command, all the way to President Kennedy’s desk, who refused to sign it. When the information was finally leaked out it clearly showed that there are those who have no regard for human life when it comes to meeting their objectives in positions of great power in the US Government. If George Bush had been presented a plan to fly drone aircraft into the World Trade Center and fire a stinger missile into the Pentagon to serve as a catalyst for a global war of domination masked as a war on terrorism, would he have signed it?

According to an e-mail citing a report by the Granma newspaper, while Americans are suffering, schools are closing, unemployment is viral, healthcare is unattainable, and there are a myriad of other more pressing social issues, the U.S. Government set aside $3,400,000.00 to "… finance subversive operations in Cuba."

The money was reportedly transferred to one of the many anti-Cuba groups in Miami that are responsible for conducting anti-Cuban Government operations in Cuba, including acts of terrorism. The organization in question, the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC), a subsidiary of the Cuban-American National Foundation (CANF), is involved in carrying out terrorist acts in Cuba.

The FHRC is located in Miami Florida and was founded by CIA-terrorist agent Jorge Mas Canosa and Luis Posada Carriles, men responsible for the loss of dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent lives. Their close relationship with the CIA and far-right senators and representatives is also at issue in the e-mail.

Luis Posada Carriles is one of the most proliferate terrorists of modern times, not only was he one of the organizers of the1976 terrorist bombing of Cubana Airlines flight 455 that killed 73 passengers, but he has a long history of terrorist activities and working with the CIA including work under the alias "Ramon Medina," with the “Contra” program run by Lt. Col. Oliver North in the Reagan National Security Council. In 1998 he admitted in interview with Ann Louise Bardach for the New York Times that he was responsible for a string of hotel bombings in Havana which injured eleven people and killed an Italian national. He was also imprisoned in Panama for trying to assassinate Fidel Castro in December 2000 with 33 pounds of C-4 explosives.

The e-mail, or rather the article it refers to, call the funding embezzlement, citing the case of a different Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) subsidized by USAID, the Center for a Free Cuba, owned by Felipe Sixto, the right-hand man of CIA agent Frank "Paquito" Calzon.

If we accept what is now part of the public record, that through USAID the CIA and the US Government funds terrorist and subversive activities then would it be much of a stretch of the imagination to postulate that they have done the same in Russia? This would include funding Chechen terrorists and their terrorist activities and operations some of which required amazing amounts of funding, planning, resources and funding.

Subversive activities in Russia would also include funding, recruiting and planning for the usurping of the government and the organization of a “color” revolution, things such as population control to facilitate the long term plan of diminishing the population and in the end a complete end to the Russian people and the Russian state. Sound far-fetched? All of these have been planned and discussed and talked about, and the ideal tool for bringing such events about was USAID.

In another e-mail Fred Burton at Stratfor was asked to verify how many people on a list of Americans killed abroad were undercover operatives to which he unconvincingly said that many were not CIA, but what was interesting is that he did say that one Laurence Foley, who was killed in 2002 in Amman Jordan, was CIA and working under U.S. Agency for International Development official cover and Freddie Woodruff, who was shot dead in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1993 was the CIA Chief of Station.

As I stated in an earlier report, USAID has long been known to be a front company for the CIA, this fact alone should be enough to raise the warning flags but if we now add to that the fact that they are active in the funding of terrorist acts it makes the organization an even worse one than most of us could have imagined.

The loss of Mihail Saakashvili’s party in parliamentary elections in Georgia may spell the end for his regime and a return to democracy in Georgia. It may also spell the warming of relations, soured by Saakashvili, between Russia and Georgia. For the West the elections may be the first step towards his removal from power, the loss of a “Queen”, in their game of geopolitical chess.

Suffering an unexpected blow at the polls in the parliamentary elections, tie-eating Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, in the middle of the night conceded defeat, opening the trap-door beneath his own feet and paving the way for real change and real democracy in Georgia, but pundits and experts are already saying that he will undoubtedly find a reason to dissolve parliament and call for new elections.

The blow to the plutocratic despot is one that the West cannot allow to stand as they have too much to lose and have invested far too much to quietly just go away, lose their influence and simply mothball all of their plans for the integration of Georgia into the Western Sphere.

It is no secret that Saakashvili is the “West’s man in the Caucuses” the darling of Hillary Clinton and Obama’s US State Department, NATO headquarters and the Pentagon and the intelligence services of the UK and the US. He is yet another despotic dictator that has murdered, oppressed, strangled, tortured and subjugated his people with the support of the West in exchange for advancing their geopolitical agenda in yet another region far removed from their own borders yet where they want control.

The VOR’s Dmitry Babich has already gone into the hypocrisy of the West with regard to Saakashvili, so I won’t go into that right now. Suffice it to say that the hypocrisy when it comes to Saakashvili is total and all encompassing and characterizes the total anti-Russia hysteria by the West, something they need to propagate to continue to have support for their intrusions on the sovereignty of the countries in the region and to justify their aggressive military build-up and the expansion of NATO into the Caucuses.

What the complete loss of power of the Saakashvili regime will mean for the West and for Saakashvili himself is hard to predict exactly, the opposition has shown leniency toward him, so it is possible he may remain in some sort of position of power for the mid-term. However what few have focused on is that his loss may open the door to prosecution and punishment for the crimes he has committed against his own people and against innocent civilians.

These crimes include the recent revelations that his “security” apparatus was responsible for torturing and illegally detaining people opposed to his regime and a plethora of charges that could be brought in relation to how his regime has stifled dissent and cracked down on anyone opposed to his regime. But that would only be the start, there are those who have accused Saakashvili of crimes that could be tantamount to treason for selling out his country to the interests of the West, although prosecution for such a crime is unlikely, that would be one possibility which would end in his execution.

The biggest worry for Saakashvili and his Western paymasters right now should be whether Saakashvili will end up having to face the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. According to an article regarding a European Union-Commissioned Report on the invasion of South Ossetia in 2008 by Russia Today, back in October of 2009, citing Interfax, Nestan Kirtadze, international secretary of Georgia's Labor Party concluded that:

“The commission accused Saakashvili of war crimes. Namely, of unleashing active hostilities, of a massive, wide-scale military operation in the South Ossetian capital Tskhinval and the use of prohibited types of weapons, of shelling and destroying nonmilitary facilities, and of attacking military personnel from the peacekeeping mission that was mandated by the United Nations.”

As there is no statute of limitations on war crimes Saakashvili has a lot to worry about and had better stock up on ties.

The winners of the parliamentary elections have said that they will normalize relations with Russia, with the West screaming indignantly about “Russian Influence” as they once again conveniently ignore their own attempts at influencing the country.

As we might recall Georgia shares almost half of her borders with Russia and has classically fallen into Russia’s sphere of influence. We should also remember that that until Saakashvili came to power Russia and Georgia shared a rich and proud history and very close ties and good relations in trade, economic and other cooperation, education and more. This was beneficial for the peoples of both countries.

Saakashvili was one of the crowning jewels in NATO and the West’s consolidation of power and control after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Who would have ever thought that the country that gave the world and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Joseph Stalin would become a pawn of Western expansionism?

The fall of Saakashvili would mean many things for many people, for one, the tens of thousands of refugees from Georgia that have fled to Europe and other countries could finally return home. It would also mean the utter failure of Hillary Clinton and the West’s plans at geopolitical domination in Russia’s backyard, a nice retirement present and the crowning failure of her diplomatic career.

Regardless of all my musings it is too early to count our chickens. Saakashvili is still in power and will do everything possible, including killing his own people, to stay in power. We will probably see attempts to dissolve parliament, call for a recount of the vote, which he will win, and a massive crack down on the Georgian opposition. Saakashvili has too much to lose to quietly acquiesce and has shown he has no qualms about taking his country down into the abyss with him.

Is Assange Running for the Office of US President? Wikileaks exclusive press release

Once again being threatened by the US Pentagon, which is set on advancing its own extra-territorial agenda and subjugating the world to the US’ will, Wikileaks and Julian Assange have decided to fight back against the US’ unilateral stance that the entire planet and all of its citizens are under its jurisdiction. Wikileaks has decided to do so during the US Presidential elections, offering the US electorate the choice of more of the same, or supporting the truth, for it is only the truth that can bring about change.

Julian Assange and Wikileaks have decided to intervene in the US presidential elections offering the American electorate and the world real “Hope” and what may be their only chance for real “change”. Not the “Change We Can Believe In” or the “Hope” of Obama’s last presidential campaign, we won’t even mention the hopelessness being offered by the Republicans, but a real chance to change the policies and the actions of the US government by exposing what they would rather the world did not know.

Is Julian running for the office of US President? Can an Australian, trapped in an Ecuadorian Embassy in the United Kingdom, run for the presidency of the United States? The answer is no and no. It is much more complicated and actually much more honest than that.

Wikileaks and Julian Assange have been the subject of US persecution for so long that some of us may forget a very simple fact that for some reason has been lost in the global debate. The US has no right whatsoever, not now and not ever, to go after anyone at Wikileaks. The fact of the matter is quite simple, the United States of America has no jurisdiction over anyone involved in the case they have fabricated against Wikileaks, no matter how they want to stifle freedom of speech and the press, and no matter how much they want to portray it as a crime that the malfeasance and war-crimes of the US Government are revealed, they simply do not have jurisdiction. Period, end of discussion.

Wikileaks and Julian Assange have finally decided to attack this point head on are now placing, as they put it: “the Obama administration within our jurisdiction.” Wikileaks claims that being subjected to laws without representation is an injustice to Americans, which is exactly what the US has been attempting to do to Wikileaks.

Nowhere have I seen in the public debate questions being raised as to how in the world can the US have the unmitigated gall to go after someone for violating some archaic internal US law like the Espionage Act of 1917 when that person and his organization have absolutely nothing to do with the United States and when their actions were not committed on US soil.

The United States has long ago stepped way outside of its own bounds and has unilaterally decided that the entire planet is under its jurisdiction. We could ask this question about almost anything the US does unilaterally anywhere in the world. For example in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria and in even here in Russia, what right does the United States of America have in dictating to the world what it should do? Under what right and under what jurisdiction does the US have to tell Syria who their president is? Under what right does the US have to fund uprisings all over the world and assassinate the leaders of sovereign nations, or for that matter even a Taliban warlord in Afghanistan?

The US has no right, and every unilateral invasion of a sovereign country, and every single drone strike and every single person that the US and its military adventures around the planet have killed are crimes against all humanity. The US has never had the right under any law but their own to carry out any of these things.

Sadly the world has grown accustomed to be subjugated and dictated what to do by the United States of America. This has been going on for decades but the fact is that people are beginning to wake up, slowly but surely, and they are beginning to realize that they are being subjugated and their countries and rights are being taken over by the US. This is embodied by what has happened to Julian Assange and those at Wikileaks and many others the world over, including yours truly.

The United States arrogantly and imperialistically expects you and I, citizen of the world, to bend to their will and do their bidding and allow them to do what they like in your country and in any country they please, and if they can not do so openly they will use whatever tools they have at their disposal to meet their goals. For Wikileaks this means keeping quiet and according to the Pentagon destroying documents the US Government does not want anyone to see.

The arrogance and utter insanity of it all was underlined last Friday, September 28th, when the US Pentagon again threatened WikiLeaks. According to Julian Assange: “Pentagon spokesman George Little demanded WikiLeaks destroy its publications, including the Iraq War logs which revealed the killings of over 100,000 civilians.”Assange also says that Little told him “… continued possession by WikiLeaks of classified information belonging to the United States Government represents a continuing violation of law”.

A “continuing violation of the law”? When did US law apply to extra-territorial cases? When did the entire planet and the 8,500,000,000 or so citizens of the world who are not Americans get together and decide that they would abide and adhere to US laws and allow the US to arrest, kidnap, incarcerate, torture, prosecute and persecute them as it saw fit? I must have missed that one.

We saw this extra-judicial, extra-territorial arrogance applied to others, for example Victor Bout and Constantin Yaroshenko, Russians entrapped in and kidnapped from, third countries and we see this every day in places like Afghanistan, Pakistan and anywhere else the US is fulfilling the kill orders of their “Commander in Chief”. The man who received a Nobel Peace Prize yet signs a daily “kill list”.

Wikileaks has thus entered the US election process to ask US citizens and the citizens of the world to support them economically and politically and support their efforts at getting the truth out. Yes the truth, something that the US Government has long claimed to have a monopoly on as well.

According to Wikileaks the US “Democratic” Party is “… building a state within a state, placing nearly 5 million Americans under the national security clearance system. It has classified more documents than any previous administration, classifying even the process used to decide who will live and who will be killed. The U.S. administration hurtles towards dystopia: secret laws, secret process, secret budgets, secret bailouts, secret killings, secret mass spying, secret drones and secret detention without charge. The collapse of the Soviet Union could have led to the withdrawal of the security state but without moral competition from another system, it has grown unchecked to influence almost every American. Four more years in the same direction cannot be tolerated.”

Julian Assange failed to mention one thing, and this is the most important fact, the growth and malignancy of the US system has affected and influenced not only “almost every American” but also most of the world in one way or another. Should this unilateral “global-judge-jury-and-executioner” be allowed to continue on the path of global domination and subjugation of the entire planet? The answer is no.

So as Julian Assange and millions of others now believe: if you want real change in Washington it doesn’t matter what party you vote for. What is truly important is that you support the truth, for as a wise man once said; “It is the truth that shall set you free.”

Last Friday, on Sept 28, the Pentagon again threatened WikiLeaks. Pentagon spokesman George Little demanded WikiLeaks destroy its publications, including the Iraq War logs which revealed the killings of over 100,000 civilians. Little said “continued possession by WikiLeaks of classified information belonging to the United States government represents a continuing violation of law”. The Pentagon also again “warned Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks” against “soliciting” material from U.S. military whistleblowers.

The United States government claims Mr. Assange and the WikiLeaks organization are within its jurisdiction. In reply, we place the Obama administration within our jurisdiction. All American school children are taught that being subject to laws without representation is an injustice. This is the backbone of the American Revolution. We claim our representation and now initiate a campaign to transform Democratic and Republican votes into economic and political support for WikiLeaks and its 1st Amendment values. This election day, do not vote for the Republican or Democratic parties. Instead, cast the only vote that matters; vote with your wallet - vote for WikiLeaks.

The Democratic Party promised to open government. But instead it is building a state within a state, placing nearly 5 million Americans under the national security clearance system. It has classified more documents than any previous administration, classifying even the process used to decide who will live and who will be killed. The U.S. administration hurtles towards dystopia: secret laws, secret process, secret budgets, secret bailouts, secret killings, secret mass spying, secret drones and secret detention without charge. The collapse of the Soviet Union could have led to the withdrawal of the security state but without moral competition from another system, it has grown unchecked to influence almost every American. Four more years in the same direction cannot be tolerated.

The Obama administration continues to conduct a “whole of government” investigation of “unprecedented scale and nature” into WikiLeaks and its people. It has fuelled the extrajudicial banking blockade against the organization and has held an alleged WikiLeaks source, Bradley Manning, in conditions that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, found amounted to torture. Mr. Assange has been formally found to be a political refugee, but U.S. ambassadors warned countries like Switzerland not to offer him asylum. President Obama has called Bradley Manning guilty before trial and Vice President Biden has named Julian Assange a 'hi tech terrorist'. The Obama-Biden campaign brags of having prosecuted twice as many national security whistleblowers as “all previous administrations combined”. This is not acceptable.

Politicians always say your decision, come election-time, will determine the future. But as has been seen with the Obama administration, deciding on who gets into formal office is not a meaningful choice, because when you vote your party into government you also vote the government, including all its agencies and friends, into your party. At the same time, parties taking office are concurrently eliminated as the restraining voice of opposition.

Government agencies and corporations know that knowledge is power. That is why they spend literally billions to keep their plans and actions secret from all of us.

It was WikiLeaks’ revelations and pan-Arab activists, not the Obama administration that helped to trigger the Arab Spring. While WikiLeaks was exposing dictators from Yemen to Cairo, Vice President Joseph Biden was calling Hosni Mubarak a democrat, Hillary Clinton was calling his government “stable” and the U.S. administration was colluding with Saleh to bomb his own people.

Last year, the Pentagon got $662 billion for its 2012 war chest. For WikiLeaks to continue its work to bring transparency to powerful institutions through the mass publication of leaks with the greatest potential to lead to more just forms of governance, we need to build a bigger 'war chest' too.

In early December 2010, WikiLeaks was receiving $120,000 per day in donations from the general public. In response to pressure from Washington, and entirely outside the law, financial institutions, including Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, Bank of American and Western Union, erected a banking blockade against WikiLeaks, stripping the organization of 95% of its funding. Although WikiLeaks has won every court case to date against the blockade, these Washington linked institutions continue to appeal.

So, for the next 34 days, beginning on October 3 2012, we are launching a new fundraising campaign running up to Election Day, 6 November.

You can still donate to WikiLeaks using a variety of easy methods, including workarounds for Visa, MasterCard and PayPal. These donations go to fund WikiLeaks' publishing and infrastructure costs and our legal costs to fight the financial blockade. We are expecting an answer shortly on Visa's appeal against the Icelandic court's ruling that declared their blockade illegal, and decision makers are expected to meet soon on our European anti-trust banking case.

If you wish to contribute to Julian Assange's legal defence costs, you can still use your credit card but you will need to make a separate donation to the Julian Assange and WikiLeaks Staff Defence Fund, administered and audited by Derek Rothera & Co. Full details are on our donate page. You can also donate to the Bradley Manning Defense Fund from our site.

"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting", Milan Kundera.

During a Puerto Rican Day parade and festivities in the US city of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, a brutal police officer was filmed punching a defenseless woman in the face as she had her back turned to him, bringing another act of criminal brutality under the authority of color to the forefront, and begging the question: What is wrong with America?

Yet another in a seemingly endless stream of cases of extreme police brutality in the US is having international resonance as another video posted on the internet goes viral and the world watches as a Philadelphia police officer brutally punches a small defenseless Puerto Rican woman, named Aida Guzman, in the face as she has her back turned to him and is walking away. The force of the blow was enough to throw her off her feet and knock her to the ground. Her crime? She reportedly was charged with spraying the police with a children’s toy called silly string, a harmless substance used at parties and celebrations.

The event took place during Puerto Rican Day festivities where a massive police presence had gathered. Those celebrating were enjoying their holiday and not engaged in any sort of act of protest or demonstration. They were attempting to celebrate their cultural heritage, not the heritage and history that Puerto Ricans have faced from the US, mirrored by the brutal event, but the cultural history of their people.

Just a little history for the international readers: Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean and a U.S. possession which was annexed by the US in the 1950s. Puerto Ricans are small minority in the US and are subjected to institutionalized discrimination and persecution and are often the objects of racist attacks by members of varying race groups. US states classify Puerto Ricans as belonging to different race groups, with some calling them white, some black and some Latino.

Puerto Ricans have classically been treated as second class citizens in the US, although they possess US citizenship from birth and many have large percentages of Indian blood flowing through their veins, from the native Taino Indians, who the US has classified as “exterminated.”

Back to the case at hand, the officer, one Lieutenant Jonathan Josey, deemed to be an outstanding officer by the police, has not been charged with any crime although it is clear that his actions were criminal and monstrously brutal.

Josey is no stranger to the people of Philadelphia when it comes to police brutality. He is also no stranger to those on the singles circuit where Josey nominated himself Sexy Single for 2006 and posted pictures of his half-nude self complete with tattoos and pierced nipples on the web for all too see.

According to local press reports Josey, a 19-year-veteran of the police force, has over 20 complaints against him that have been filed with the internal affairs division. Yet he is still on the street. One such case against him, according to the site Opposing Views, states that Josey, pulled over a car and with no evidence of wrongdoing, accused a man and his sons of being drug dealers, he then used his gun to terrorize them and beat the hell out of all of them, before arresting them on false charges.

Yet NBC Philadelphia reports that according to Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross, Josey has a good reputation. His “good reputation” does not stop with the above listed incidents. Josey also shot and killed a US veteran while off-duty in what was reported as a failed robbery attempt. The city of Philadelphia praised him for the killing.

Josey was also the subject of a lawsuit for which the city had to pay $7,500.00 to settle after he kicked, punched and threw an innocent man against a wall while supposedly searching for a weapon, another in a long series of brutality complaints against Josey.

Judging from local media reports the US press seems to be, for some reason, more worried about his 19-year-career and the “blemish” on his record and not the scars and damage that must have been done to the face of the little lady he punched.

There are also racial undertones to this case. If the woman was white and not Puerto Rican, the outrage would be extreme and on the other side of the spectrum if the officer had been white it would have been called a racist attack. Yet this was an act by a black cop beating a Puerto Rican woman, the press and the pundits are showing their indifference and trying to play neutral. Had it been black on black, we would probably not even have heard about this.

The officer has over 20 complaints, and this one just happened to be filmed. How many other innocent people did he beat and terrorize that we do not know about? How many members of the poor and defenseless side of society too afraid to file a complaint against an attacker in uniform is this man guilty of attacking? Can this type of behavior be supported by police departments?

Judging by the reaction in Philadelphia, this may be normal behavior and even commendable and heroic. How many hundreds if not thousands have been the victims of police violence in Philadelphia that we will never know about? How many animals such as Josey are currently working for US police departments? Millions?

In his half nude “Sexy Single” photo, posted by NBC news, with his tattoos and pierced nipples, Josey was apparently sitting in a housed owned by Al Capone in Atlantic City New Jersey. What location more befitting for a thug who beats defenseless little Puerto Rican women and preys on the weak than the former home a thug and killer of legendary proportions. Will Josey be arrested and punished? Not likely.

Media-Bias and Gazprom: Western Media Rehashes “Tired Clichés of Kremlin Intrigue”

And just like the article says, despite exploiting cliché cold-war terminology from the very start, it’s not about the cold war, or geopolitical machinations or even military cooperation, it’s about natural gas drilling.

The article cites two shale gas fields in the US as evidence of what the writer calls “vast reserves of gas buried in deep shale rock” yet ignores the difficulties in extracting shale gas, the high-cost and the environmental concerns.

The writer also blames Moscow for engaging in a conspiracy to make shale gas unpopular by citing anonymous “industry watchers” who say “Russia is bankrolling environmental groups that are loudly opposing plans for fracking in Europe.” Fracking is the term used for a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. The writer also fails to mention the real dangers of the practice and tries to paint Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bad or conspiratorial light because he spoke about how dangerous fracking was.

Calling Russian energy giant Gazprom “state controlled” gives the concern a less-than-legitimate connotation and ignores the fact that all energy and strategic industries worldwide are in one way or another “state controlled”, this is true for the US as well.

The article cites low gas prices in the US as something that the has gotten the world’s attention but plays down the fact that, again, shale gas is expensive to extract and that the current prices in the US are abnormally low and will rise in the future. A fact stated by Gazprom executive Sergei Komlev, whom the article cites.

Lastly the article attempts to paint an overall picture that the US may be able to provide cheap gas to Europe and compete for that segment of the Russian gas market, something completely unrealistic but that Americans want to hear, underlined by Mitt Romney who has repeated that he "will pursue policies that work to decrease the reliance of European nations on Russian sources of energy."

The whole article completely ignores many important undeniable facts, one being that part of Russia is physically in Europe, another is that Russia already has pipelines into Europe and is providing Europe with cheap gas, and the last that the US is an Ocean away and has not pipelines or realistically competitive means to get any quantity of gas to Europe, let alone on a regular and competitive basis.

Promises that the US can compete in the European gas market may sound good to the American electorate and in political speeches but lacking a pipeline from Texas to Europe such promises are merely dreams and empty political rhetoric.

The only way for the US to actually compete in the European gas market is for them to take control of resources in the Middle East for example, which would also allow them to compete elsewhere, a fundamental reason for the US’ current resource wars throughout the Middle East.

I am not the only one taking the Western Media to task, this time on the subject of media bias and slanted reporting against Gazprom. Gazprom’s spokesman Sergei Kuprianov also took on the issue much better than I could, being a man who is truly in the know of all of the nuances, in a letter to the Washington Post. According to Mr. Kuprianov the Washington Post ignored the realities of “Gazprom’s recent strategic decisions” and rehashed “tired clichés of Kremlin intrigue”.

“Rehashing tired clichés of Kremlin intrigue” is something the Western Press seems unable to get out of the habit of doing. In case anyone needs reminding, and obviously many do: the Cold War has been over for a very long time people.

In this installment of the Media-Bias series we look at more twisting of the facts, omission of the context, and sheer fabrications, in attacks on Russia involving the infamous group Pussy Riot. In another piece the elected President of Russia is once again demonized and the Russian people are portrayed as ignorant simplistic slaves. Russians are not slaves to anyone, and yes, there is democracy in Russia.

In yet another piece of “balanced reporting” by the Washington Post titled “Shoring up Putin in Russian countryside” another attack on Russia’s elected leader and the Russian Government, we once again see the same lack of context and omission of facts, the use of clichés and half-truths, and the stretching and manipulation of facts to make yet another event appear sinister and evil and a sign of some Machiavellian machinations by President Putin’s Government.

The writer, Kathy Lally, immediately draws a black foreboding cloud over her canvas of Russia by calling the elected head of the local administration in Izhevsk a “local chieftain”, she then goes on to claim as fact ridiculous “events’ that barely deserve the attention to be repeated but as they appear in such a respected publication demand retraction.

Calling the head of the local administration a chieftain, as if they are running around in fields living in tents is one thing, but stating as fact that the Head of the Republic of Udmurtia, walks around with a notebook with election percentage results for the United Russia Party and makes decisions regarding social programs and government projects based on the results, is insulting, scandalous and shows a complete lack of knowledge of the facts and reality. What is more it shows a complete disregard for journalistic ethics and a propensity for creating facts to suit the message.

The big story for the writer is a project to build a road and facilitate parking in the courtyard between several buildings which required the cutting down of some trees. One of the buildings houses government offices allowing the writer to target the project. What she does not mention that beyond the courtyard where the trees are that need to be cut down there are thousands of trees and city itself is surrounded by thousands of kilometers of forests.

The writer also claims that when she harassed a local opposition candidate who refused to talk to her and then she presented herself at his offices anyway, he told her that “he could be barred from the ballot if anyone photographed him talking with an American”. Something that would be true for an American politician as well if he were photographed secretly speaking to “Russians”. The fact that he did not want to talk to a questionable reporter writing a smear piece on Russia never enters her mind.

Lastly she claims that the city manager of Izhevsk told veterans that funding depends on the how United Russia did in their districts, another fantasy provocation and twisting of reality.

Sure United Russia may be involved in running the government, they campaigned in elections, won seats, and took part in the democratic electoral process but no matter how you want to paint it, the fact is that the government is not being run “for” the United Russia Party, as many hacks in the West want to portray, part of it may be being run “by” them, and if voters are unhappy they will be voted out.

Russians are not slaves to anyone, and there is democracy in Russia. One last point the writer made is citing the banning of USAID from Russia and painting this as some move by Putin. She ignores the facts about USAID and the subversive activities they fund all over the world, and sees the CIA Front through her US Government Issued rose-colored-glasses. It is critical to note that this was a decision by the Foreign Ministry and the Russian Government, not a personal one by the President. And really? What right does USAID have to subvert governments in the first place.

Another key phrase in stories we will touch upon in today’s media bias piece is one we see time and again and one the West loves to use all the time when pointing their fingers at others, that phrase is “Witch Hunt”. The phrase is once again used in yet another article in the Western press about the group “Pussy Riot” a group created by Western backers to bring about a divide in Russian society and to cause the questioning of the legitimacy of the Russian Government by the people.

It is important to note that even their name was created for a Western audience, and like their Ukrainian counterparts FEMEN their provocative slogans are for some “strange reason” always written in English. The first article in question, like almost all on the topic, again ignores all of the facts in the case and the activities of the members of the group before they were finally arrested and fails to take into account the context and the rage at their “stunt” justifiably felt by the majority.

Anna Nemtsova in a piece for the Daily Beast claims that the political youth group Nashi was hunting for the remaining members of Pussy Riot. She says that the group has a special investigative unit headed by Konstantin Goloskov which offered a reward for the names and addresses of the remaining members who are hiding from police. The writer is obviously unaware that such information has been available on the Russian net for a long time but I guess that is not important.

The fact that the group may be assisting the police is of course portrayed as something bad and evil, as if the group is being unfairly persecuted for their “innocent” deeds, which include being filmed have sex in a museum, and ignores the fact that if what she writes is true then this shows broad widespread displeasure by the populace in general with the activities of the group in question.

Nemtsova portrays the youth group Nashi as some sort of evil part of “Putin’s internal and foreign political machine” and Nashi activists as easily and cheaply bought supporters who would join demonstrations just for the chance to get a free bus ride to Moscow. She also claims the Nashi “commissars” are given parliamentary seats, ignoring the fact that under Russia’s democratic system these seats and positions are won in elections. She ends her “article” by comparing “The witch hunt to McCarthyism”. Clearly she knows nothing about McCarthyism to make such a comparison.

Another article on the same topic in the Guardian makes the statement that the case “highlights the crackdown on freedoms since Putin returned to the presidency in May” and also ignores everything the group did in the months leading up to their arrest, including a performance on Red Square for which they were merely fined. Although their sentence was dropped from 7 to 2 years for a religious hate crime, as with all the Western Press this leniency is ignored.

This great crackdown they are speaking about must mean the implementation of fines for illegal activities inciting hatred and a threat to the populace or perhaps the requiring of foreign funded political organizations to declare the source of their incomes, I would assume. As the write gives no examples and makes such a broad all-encompassing statement one can only assume.

An article in the New York Times sporting the headline “Moscow Court Postpones Pussy Riot Hearing” immediately tries to shed a bad light on the court with the headline although the reason for the postponement was the fact that one of the members of the group decided to fire her lawyer during the court hearing.

The article also ignores the basic details in the case and parrots the Western Media claim that this was simply a “Punk Prayer”. Something I have never heard of happening in the West. The article makes no issue over the fact that political statements were spliced into a video of the “punk prayer” later, something which should prove to anyone that their act was one of religious hatred and not a political statement as they are claiming.

The article also takes no issue with the fact that, as they report: “Ms. Tolokonnikova and her husband were filmed having sex in a museum alongside other couples, in a 2008 “protest” against Dmitri A. Medvedev…” something that no normal “protestor” or anyone in their right mind for that matter, would do.

Once again we see that the Western Press is using the case to deride Russia and to paint Russia in a bad light and continues to ignore all of the facts in the case and the actions of the group which had they taken place in any Western country would have had them locked up in a mental institution or worse.

The stage is set, the NATO forces are in position and authorization has been given, now all it will take is a little spark to ignite the powder keg that is the Middle East. The West needs a middle-man, a reason to invade Syria, and Turkey is that tool. Statements by both NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the Turkish Parliament come as a proof.

Remember about a month ago when US President Barack Obama phoned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan and they spoke about Syria and Obama was photographed sitting behind his desk holding a baseball bat? Well it was a sign, and from sign to action takes time, after all we are talking about invading a sovereign nation to eradicate its leader. Well time is coming, all the signs are there.

One of them is the recent authorization by the Turkish Parliament granting Erdogan the power to send Turkish troops into “foreign” countries, meaning Syria. Another is the now open bombing by Turkey of its Syrian neighbor and yet another are statements and preparations by NATO and the West.

Rick Rozoff at Stop NATO cites one such statement by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen who stated: “I can assure you we have all necessary plans in place to defend and protect Turkey, our ally.” This came after an unprecedented late-night meeting after Turkey began its cross border bombing of Syria, after which NATO stated: "In view of the Syrian regime’s recent aggressive acts at NATO’s southeastern border, which are a flagrant breach of international law and a clear and present danger to the security of one of its Allies, the North Atlantic Council met today, within the framework of Article 4 of the Washington Treaty..."

According to Rick Rozoff at Stop NATO “A week ago the top military commander of NATO, Admiral James Stavridis, paid an unannounced visit to the Turkish capital to meet with Chief of General Staff General Necdet Özel and Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz.” All of this and the mobilization of what is becoming an invasion size force along the Syrian border leaves little doubt what is soon to come.

Iranian media is filled with reports of NATO’s intentions, with the FARS News Agency reporting that Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader stated that: “NATO is preparing the ground for military intervention in Syria under the pretext that the security of Turkey, which is a NATO member, has been threatened.”

The Trend News website quotes Ali Akbar Velayati as saying: “Certain Western countries are seeking to drag NATO into regional issues. The West is digging a hole so that Turkey, Syria, and the entire region will become stuck in it and the Islamic Awakening will be overshadowed. Regional countries, including Syria, Turkey, and Iraq, should remain vigilant because the United States and its allies have plots for regional countries."

In an interview for the Voice of Russia Rick Rozoff also made it point to underline the fact that: “…only hours before the shelling incident that has provided Turkey the occasion for authorizing ongoing military attacks inside Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told reporters in Moscow that Russia had warned NATO and its allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) against conspiring to manufacture pretexts for military intervention inside Syria such as demanding so-called humanitarian corridors or buffer zones inside the latter nation and launching armed provocations on the Turkish-Syrian border.”

The fact that NATO and the West are known to openly wish to invade a country under any pretext should set off alarm bells and cause an international uproar, but after they got away with it in Afhgnaistan, Iraq and Libya, it seems that the world has become calloused and accustomed to such crimes against humanity.

said despite the situation being a complex one, the US and the NATO countries are the world’s biggest oil addicts and they will do anything to keep their dealers happy and ensure that they get their fix.

President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez has won the presidential elections with a comfortable lead over his rival in an election many were calling a choice between socialism and capitalism, in the South American country socialism won, to the great displeasure of the West. What the election means for the future of Russian-Venezuelan relations is a continuing and strengthening of close ties and cooperation on all fronts.

This cooperation is something the West and those in Washington’s sphere of influence may not be pleased with. This includes social and cultural collaboration, energy production and the development of energy resources, business, manufacturing, agricultural and scientific development and lastly cooperation in the areas of military development and cooperation.

Speaking to ecstatic supporters gathered around the presidential palace on the eve of his clear victory in the national elections, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez declared that "Venezuela will continue along the path of democratic and Bolivarian socialism of the 21st century."

In an election that many in the West saw as a referendum pitting the ideals of socialism against those of capitalism, the people of Venezuela made their choice loud and clear, and they are happy with the path of Democratic Socialism that Chávez has been the champion of.

Shortly after the election results became clear Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with the leader and congratulated the charismatic Chávez wishing him continued success in the post of president.

During the course of the conversation both leaders gave high marks to the level of mutually beneficial cooperation that has been reached by both countries and confirmed Russian and Venezuela’s shared aim to further strengthen what have traditionally been friendly relations.

The leaders also spoke about further developing and completing many joint plans and stated their commitment to continuing the constructive dialogue between the governments of both countries at all levels.

On the other side of the spectrum the reaction from the West was far from warm, with the White House reacting faster than it did when President Putin was re-elected but not congratulating the elected leader himself. The frosty reaction from the White House to the leader who not long ago said he supported US President Barack Obama came in the form of a terse press statement congratulating the Venezuelan people and not Chávez himself.

As one of the few countries left in the world which pursues a robust and independent foreign policy agenda and internal policies which are far from those which Washington would characterize as being in keeping with their own self-serving interests, Venezuela has found itself increasingly in Washington’s sights. Recently it has even been openly discussed, albeit in hushed tones, that the West may have plans to eliminate Hugo Chávez and even launch military aggression against the Opec Member.

In the field of energy alone Venezuela has been a thorn-in-the-side of the US for a long time with Washington displeased over many of the policies and practices of state controlled oil company PDVSA, including what it sees as “discount” prices offered to the country’s “Socialist Allies”.

Venezuela has some of the largest oil reserves in the world and the West is displeased that they are not able to get their hands on the pie as much as they would like to. On Monday analysts at J.P. Morgan predicted that the win by Chávez would further stifle foreign investment, meaning there will be much less possibility of the West getting their share of Venezuela’s riches.

Experts and analysts from all the over the world may also see the win by Chávez as a cementing of his position on the US list for regime change with many continuing to say that after Syria and Iran Venezuela will be next.

The case of the sucker-punch felt around the world appeared to be closed, with the brutal police officer responsible, Lieutenant Jonathan Josey, in line to be fired, but things are not so simple when all of the cards are stacked in favor of the police and when the legal system defends and protects even brutal criminals as long as they are wearing a badge.

With all of the injustice and ugliness in the world sometimes it is nice to see someone finally get their just oats. The only problem is that when evil men do things they will usually do anything to get away with it.

This is all true in the case of Aida Guzman. A diminutive woman of Puerto Rican descent who was taking part in a parade and for no reason was sucker-punched in the face by a viscous cop twice her size. Her supposed crime throwing water on some police officers, or Silly String, depending on who you believe.

This case would not have gotten the international attention it has were it not for the videos that hit the net and went viral and if you have seen them and you believe your owns eyes then Aida Guzman did nothing, she was walking away when out of the blue she was punched in the face with so much force she went flying.

If the world were a just place, due to the existence of the video, then you would think the case was closed. After all there were no hidden previous actions, there were no blurred images, everything is plain as day, the ofgficer was criminally out-of-line, but things are not that simple. When the officer in question, a brutal sadistic individual who has been allowed to run unchecked for 19 years, has been protected for so long, there are those who would protect him longer.

The officer Lieutenant Jonathan Josey has been suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss, but will this happen? You would think so, but perhaps it won’t. According to Philly.com: “John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, has said that the union would appeal the decision and that he was optimistic that Josey would get his job back.” Optimistic that the brutal beater of women would get his job back? Optimisitic?

The world is outraged, the woman was not charged with anything, Michael Nutter the Mayor of Philadelphia has apologized personally to the little lady, saying: “Every time I look at it, I am appalled, I am sickened, and I am ashamed on behalf of the good men and women of the Philadelphia Police Department,” and even the Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has condemned the horrendously violent act. Horrendous in its brutality and the casual way it was inflicted.

Ramsey made the decision to fire Josey and has sated to the press that there is the possibility that Josey will face criminal charges. Not a very pleasant prospect for someone who has grown so accustomed to beating and abusing other under the color of law. It is highly unlikely Josey will have pleasant time in prison, they don’t like cops who beat defenseless women too much in the big house, so he should be worried.

Or should he? There are rules for the use of force, rules set by those who use the force. If you or I were to decide the answer to whether this officer who I have already detailed has a long history of violence is guilty, the answer would be a resounding yes! I hope, but according to Randy Lobasso who runs a blog at PhillyNow.com the rules may end up being in favor of the officer, depending on how they are applied.

According to LoBasso: The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania issued a statement from executive director Reggie Shuford which said: “I was shocked when I saw the video of what happened. I saw absolutely nothing that justified the use of such extreme force to take this woman down. I can’t imagine the officer’s actions comported with departmental policy. If so, that policy needs to be changed immediately.”

In statement’s to the press Guzman’s attorney Enrique Latoison said Guzman is thankful for Nutter's apology and that it was what she had been hoping for. Whether they will sue or press charges remains to be seen.

What also remains to be seen is whether Josey will once again get away with murder. According to John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the answer to the question “Is beating women acceptable to US police?”which I used as the title for my last piece on this matter, is a resounding yes.

Benghazi Attack on Largest CIA Regional Operation, Steven’s Death Simply Collateral

While the US continues to debate and determine whom to blame and what “failures” led to the attack on the US Embassy compound and CIA safe house in Benghazi, nowhere is anyone considering the fact the event was the result of US meddling into the affairs of foreign states or the fact it was the US who is responsible for the death of Libya’s former leader.

The intelligence and security failure at the United States Embassy Compound in Benghazi Libya is being spun in so many different ways by the US press and politicians all with an agenda of their own to promote, and even with the deaths of 4 people involved, they are still refusing to look at the real root causes which led to the disaster.

Once again the US Government has obfuscated, passed the buck and continued to propagate versions of the event that are contradictory and have little basis in fact, something obvious as their statements are continuously revealed to be false, and that is just from what has been put out there in the media.

What really happened in Benghazi was the result of long running US meddling in the affairs of sovereign nations and in particular in the Muslim world. An area they have shown time and time they have no clear understanding about and even less respect for. The attack in Benghazi was an attack on one of the CIA’s largest operations in the region. This is clear from the fact that Steven’s death was a secondary event in the attack on the compound. They attackers were after what was in the compound, not Stevens.

This was also underlined by the fact that over half of the US personnel evacuated from Benghazi were CIA, the sheer number of them surprising even to Libyan officials and the fact that a CIA safe house was also attacked at the same time.

The most conclusive evidence we have as to the nature of the attack was what was taken from the embassy compound. The UK’s Independent reported that: “… missing papers from the consulate are said to list names of Libyans who are working with Americans… while some of the other documents are said to relate to oil contracts.” The same article states that the US knew 48 hours before the attack that American missions could be attacked but failed to do anything about it.

The US media and the US government have completely missed the entire point and in their self-serving myopia and have failed to honor their dead with the truth and look at the real cause behind the Benghazi incident. Not the situational and technical causes but the real root cause.

Russia’s Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov may have been brutally honest in the wording of his assessment of the incident and was taken out of context but he was right in painting the event as something other than the US being an “innocent” victim. Something the West loves to do when the deaths of US citizens are involved in any event.

Sure the act was abhorrent, abysmal and in no way should be excused, but why is it that the world should be outraged every time something happens to Americans and every time they die at the hands of terrorists or insurgents or the people they themselves are trying to kill?

Why is it that Americans can invade countries at will, engaging in illegal aggressive wars, and the world has no recourse? And the people who fight to protect their homelands are treated as terrorists and criminals and allowed to be taken to Guantanamo and tortured when the invaders who are killing their families and friends and loved ones and stealing their resources and destroying their homes and cities are allowed to walk around with impunity and kill and desecrate and murder and bomb endlessly at will?

If we are to believe the official US version of 9-11, that some “primitive Muslim terrorists”, and I say that because they are portrayed that way by Americans not because I believe that, then we are to believe that these Al-Qaeda operatives, from some cave in Afghanistan or wherever, planned the most precise controlled demolition in the history of mankind and took the lives of just under 3,000 Americans. Then this was also blowback for meddling in the Muslim world.

Regardless of who planned the 9-11 attacks who benefitted is clear however as the event allowed the US to begin its endless resource war against “terror”, but the world has grown up, and the holes in the official story are now part of dinner table conversation the world over.

The US has been meddling in Muslim countries for decades, and while the US is holding hearings and passing the blame back and forth to everyone and everything under the sun, no one is even thinking that perhaps the blame lies with the US itself and with American arrogance and naivety.

The Clinton’s are concerned, as they know it is Hillary’s aggressive in-your-face-do-what-we-say-or-die stance that contributed to the attack, even going so far as to organize a legal team in case she is blamed, according to the Daily Caller citing author Ed Klein: “… former President Bill Clinton is moving fast to develop a contingency plan for how his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, should react if Obama attempts to tie the Benghazi fiasco around her neck.”

The US really believes that they can go anywhere in the world and bring about regime change wherever they want, extra-judicially execute whoever they want, eliminate leaders like dogs in the street, torture anyone in the name of their own “security”, kidnap and disappear anyone at will, bomb whatever country dares to show independence, invade and confiscate the resources of any country they desire, control and punish any country in the world into submission and dictate to absolutely everyone what they can and can’t do. Sadly for the imperial power this is increasingly not the case.

Americans believe the world welcomes them and wants to be like them and travel to America and live in the land of milk and honey and breathe free, something totally untrue yet self gratifying as they sit in the fumes of their degenerate, ignorant, polluted and segregated police state.

That meddling for decades in the Muslim world, engaging in an undeclared endless war against Muslims, extra-judicially executing Muslim leaders and invading Muslim countries never crosses the minds of Americans as a reason for anti-American incidents shows a complete lack of understanding of the people of the world and how the world really works and a complete unbelievable pompous self-righteous arrogance.

Why is it that, in the eyes of Americans and their “allies”, the father of a little Muslim kid in Afghanistan is worth less than an American soldier? Why is it that when Gaddafi was killed like a dog in the street and Hillary Clinton said “We came, we saw, he died” the world was supposed to accept that, yet when Stevens was drug along the street like a dog, we are supposed to go mad with grief and pity and outrage?

Sure Stevens knew there was a security problem, he was working “in country” he had dealings with Al-Qaeda and the mercenaries and insurgents who helped the US to take control of Libya, and assassinate Muamar Gadaffi but no one wanted to listen. Those responsible are not programmed to listen to such news, they honestly believe that Americans are welcomed wherever they go as the bringers of democracy and freedom and anything that does not fit that misconception can not be.

If the US were truly loved as liberators and the bringers of democracy, as they would like the world to believe, some politicians even painting the picture of the Benghazi incident as a sign of success, then in reality they would not need armed guards and security at all.

Sure Benghazi was an intelligence failure but the failure was not with the “Intelligence Community” but with the simple intelligence to understand that if you kill and attack and humiliate a people long enough they are going to hit back.

True success in the world is when you do not have to use force and weapons to fulfill your goals and make yourself respected and loved and when you are able to walk the streets without guards and truly be called a friend.

In the grounding and confiscation of part of the cargo of a passenger jet flying from Moscow to Syria and the beating of passengers and crew, many say Turkey committed an illegal act of air-piracy. Has Ankara now decided to take on Moscow? Not likely, but things are not always as they seem, and the hand of NATO and the US are more than just discernable here.

Turkey’s forced grounding of a Syrian Air Airbus A320, with approximately 30 passengers on board has been called an act of air-piracy by the Syrian authorities and Russia has stated the search and seizure of part of the cargo were illegal. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the incident endangered the lives of Russian citizens aboard the plane. Lavrov has also reiterated that Moscow is still waiting for an official explanation from Turkey as to why it refused to allow Russian diplomats aboard the plane to meet with the passengers and crew.

For Turkey it is one thing that it continuously occupies Northern Iraq and that it has decided to launch attacks into Syria but it is a whole nother game when it decides to openly take on the Russian Federation, which like it or not is still a powerful superpower and one which Turkey depends on for everything from gas to tourism.

Russia is also not indifferent to Turkey and has worked with Turkey for years on a number of fronts including plans for a section of the South Stream gas pipeline and plans to assist Turkey in building its first nuclear power plant, both very important projects for both countries and not likely to be affected by this single incident, according to statements by officials on both sides, including Foreign Minister Lavrov.

What is troubling is that Turkey would so openly and blatantly commit such a provocative act right in front of the eyes of the entire world as if daring Russia to react and seeming to challenge the authority of the superpower. What one has to wonder is what has emboldened Turkey to such a point. Could it be that Turkey was pushed into doing so by NATO to test the waters for the invasion of Syria that they so crave? That is one possibility.

Another possibility as to the reasons behind the attack which the world’s press has not looked at but which to me seems quite possible is that Turkey and NATO were after the technology on the plane. It is critical to recall that NATO believes it was Russian Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air defensive missile technology which uses the latest cutting edge system of phased-array radar for both target acquisition and tracking, which was responsible for taking out the Turkish American-made F-4 Phantom on June 22nd.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated and media outlets are reporting that there was dual-use radar equipment parts on the plane, all shipped legally and not in any violation of current international conventions. We can postulate, that perhaps the Turkish side and their NATO and CIA intelligence contacts believed that these parts were for air-defense systems being used or upgraded by Syria. This would explain why Turkey took such a risk.

If NATO and the US are preparing for an invasion of Syria, then one of the first things they need to knock out are the country’s radar and air-defense systems. If the F-4 Phantom was a test run, then Western technology proved to be impotent in evading Syrian air defenses and Russian technology.

The fact that Turkey so openly and blatantly committed such an illegal act, points to the fact that there are other hands behind this than what we are all privy to and as we know NATO and the US are for the most part calling all the shots in Turkey. Shall we once again recall Obama and his baseball bat?

Underlining the illegality of Turkey’s actions and the fact that they knew they were acting illegally are several events that occurred on the plane and several facts surrounding the incident. 1: the crew and passengers were beaten, 2: the Turkish side attempted to force the passengers and crew to sign documents saying the plane made an emergency landing, 3: the documents did not mention that the military aircraft were used to ground the plane and the crew and passengers were ordered not to mention them, 4: Russian diplomats were not allowed onto the plane to provide assistance to Russian citizens and 5: the plane was released without part of the cargo on board, which amounts to an act of air-piracy and theft as the parts were being shipped legally and were properly documented.

Depending on what exactly was on board it might take days to weeks for the parts to be copied, studied or tampered with depending on what the goal of the operation is, and have no doubt this was an “operation”. Everything from Erdogan’s statements about “intelligence”, to military personal who beat passengers, to military air-craft being used to force the Airbus A320 passenger jet to the ground, to the already prepared witness statements, point to a carefully planned operation.

Logic tells us that it is highly-unlikely that Turkey, independently, would take on Russia. Turkey in this case is clearly being manipulated and used by the US and NATO, both now and as the fall-guy for the upcoming invasion of Syria. We should recall that arms, mercenaries and terrorists are being spring-boarded into Syria from Turkish bases, and even the mortar that recently killed the Turkish citizens on the border allowing Turkey to begin shelling inside Syrian territory was NATO issue.

Obama and his baseball bat made it clear to the world who is pulling the strings in Turkey, and like in Georgia, the West’s military intentions for the region are clear. Turkey, like Georgia, has become emboldened and reckless in its bid to please its western “partners”, maybe it is time for the Turkish opposition and the Turkish people to step up to the plate and decide they will not be the fall-guy and the patsy in another resource invasion by Washington? Or maybe not.

This past week the western media just couldn’t seem to get enough of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. Rather than having the common decency and respect for an elected leader, the media jackals chose to use the occasion of the president’s birthday to deride and undermine.

The attacks on President Putin ranged from small one page articles to whole exposés featuring abundant photos and even video. There were many but I have had to choose only a few.

They start by implying that 60 years is old for a third term president, false. Do a Google search for “age of presidents” if you disagree. These are the same people who gave kudos to John McCain who at 72 would have been the oldest first-term president in history. The fact that President Putin is popular with young people is also portrayed as something “bad” although in the West this is always something viewed as being a positive. All of this was just in the lead.

Further, the article contains such statements as: “… grip on power appeared as tight as ever,” is this an inference to the fact that despite concerted attempts by the West to cause Russians to question his legitimacy he is still as popular as ever or are they implying the president of Russia should not be in control of the country? Does anyone say these things about Obama or the Queen?

Then they state: “…continues to paint himself as an adventure-loving sex-symbol that oozes machismo” as well as, “…the ultimate ladies’ man, waited on by a gaggle of long-legged women”, such statements attack the president for his excellent health, love of sports, and popularity with the ladies. What is wrong with that? Should he be popular with young men? Perhaps the writers, two young men themselves, are jealous? Maybe even overly so?

The article blasts President Putin for being: “…a tireless and no-nonsense leader contemptuous of domestic and international criticism”, I suppose he should follow Bush’s lead and go on vacation for most of his term or listen to everyone and then become a “flip-flopper” as the West labels those who change their policies every time they are criticized?

Then we have: “…he brushed aside concerns the two-year jail sentence for punk bank Pussy Riot was too severe”, he properly did so as the sentence was the decision of the court. Is Obama asked every time someone innocent “accidently” gets executed in the United States about his opinion?

The writers then deride the president for his position that if someone wants to criticize government policies or the way things work, let them offer a responsible alternative, rather than what the Western funded opposition do, which is attack and deride and offer no concrete option or basis for their attacks which are solely aimed at causing a riff in Russian society and bringing into question the legitimacy of the government (a key ingredient for a “color” revolution). They take issue with the fact that: “…he welcomes opposing views, but that they should come from people willing to take responsibility for running the country.”

Further it only gets worse, they repeat the above groundless claims, in an apparent attempt at: “if you repeat a lie long enough it becomes true” and they cite a “wave of satire” which has hurt his “macho image”, something no one in Russia has seen, perhaps they know Russia better than Russians do?

The way the writers use the term “KGB Spy” as something terrible, is so cliché and cold-war that it is laughable. First off many western presidents and leaders have had ties to the CIA and Mi-5/6, yet they are never derided for it, secondly President Putin was a KGB Officer, not a “spy”! A spy is someone who passes information or performs other functions obtained under a false cover. Either they don’t know what a spy is, or they failed to do their homework.

The Guardian took issue with President Putin supporting the decision of the court in the case of Pussy Riot and played on the assumption that he has influence over court decision undermining the legitimacy of the Russian judiciary. They claim his popularity is dropping by citing unnamed and unknown polls.

Forbes once again, as the West loves to do, paints a picture of convicted serial tax-evader Mikhail Khodorkovsky as a “prisoner of conscience” and takes issue with his 12 year sentence. First of all for similar crimes in the US someone would no doubt be locked up for multiple life terms, second of all how in the world can someone convicted of the crimes he was convicted for be called a “prisoner of conscience”? Does this mean that all of us citizens of the world can stop paying taxes and gain the protection of Amnesty International? Please Louise!

Forbes also attacks President Putin and claims Khodorkovsky would have to get on his knees for a pardon, although President Putin generously said if Khodorkovsky files a petition for an appeal it would be looked at amicably. Forbes claiming that filing a petition for an appeal is the equivalent to “Khodorkovsky getting on his knees” is ignoring the fact that a petition is required in any case before there can be any chance of an appeal being granted by the president.

I wonder what the reaction in the West would be if we started attacking their presidents?

Hillary Clinton admits the security failure in Benghazi was her fault, although not mentioning decades of US meddling in the Muslim world, in a move more likely than not engineered to deflect negativity from Obama as he fights for re-election. As if to underline her failure as Secretary of State the US has also pleaded with Russia to do more to solve the situation in Syria. In the meanwhile US candidates who may bring about real change in US (Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala) are being arrested.

If you have been around for a while you all recall the famous Bill Clinton tradition of flip-flopping and trying to play to everyone in the room. Well that Clinton tradition seems to be alive and well and living in Benghazi, Libya, metaphorically speaking of course.

Bill is back, or at least he has made enough noise to get some press, this time up in arms and really upset because the Clinton dream of making Hillary the first female US President may be at risk, if you believe that she really has a chance after a dismal career as Secretary of State. We should recall that the post was her consolation prize for helping out Obama on his becoming the first black US President.

According to author Ed Klein in an interview with The Daily Caller, a right-wing US media outlet, Bill Clinton has organized a legal team to decide how to deal with Hillary being blamed for the Benghazi attack. This was at about the same time White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the blame lies with the State Department and not the White House.

According to Klein the worst case scenario for the Clintons would have Hillary resigning from her post, something that would damage not only Obama’s re-election chances but her presidential aspirations for 2016.

Behind the scenes the Clintons are fighting for their grip on power and decisions are being made not only to protect Hillary from the fallout from Benghazi but to protect Obama’s re-elections bid. Something which has prompted Clinton to now take full responsibility for the “security failure” in Benghazi, Libya, and to say that Obama was in no way involved in “mission security” issues.

To say that Hillary Clinton has failed as Secretary of State might be a harsh assessment, given the disastrous state of affairs she was passed on by her predecessor, but in reality failure might be the only word that fits. The day when Muammar Kaddafi was brutally murdered in the street, and Clinton joyously proclaimed, “We came, we saw, he died!” is over. Any victory the US could have claimed in Libya is dead and gone, unless we talk about oil deals and the like, which of course was the real reason for the invasion of Libya, wasn’t it?

The same can be said for the advancement of US interests and US meddling in every country the US has attempted to garner control: Iraq “failure”, Iran “failure”, the Arab Spring countries “failure”, Russia and attempts at undermining President Putin “failure”, Afghanistan “failure”, Pakistan “failure”, Venezuela “failure” and now Libya “failure”.

Hold on, I am not finished, as if to add a thick oozing coat of icing to the rotting and putrid cake of failure, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland recently stated that the United States hopes Russia will get more involved in the settlement of the Syrian conflict.

Nuland said: “They have influence that we don’t have, since they have had these military relationships for so long, and we’d like to see them use it to pressure Assad…” Wow! Has someone in the US finally woken up and realized that it is in fact a multi-polar world and they can not go around dictating to everyone and “controlling the situation” everywhere they go?

This is the same State Department that called Russia “morally bankrupt” and falsely accused Russia of supplying weapons to Assad when they are funding and arming terrorists and sending them into Syria to kill anything that moves? Russia just kicked USAID out of the country and refused all pleas by the State Department to allow them to keep operating, that should have been a wake up call, and perhaps they are waking up, and finally realizing that they have no idea what they are doing. More than likely not but it’s a nice thought.

As if to further underline the morally bankrupt and completely corrupt system of “democracy” in the US and further evidence of how far those in power will go to stay there, last night US Green Presidential Candidate Jill Stein and Vice-Presidential Candidate Cheri Honkala, who I spoke to last month, were arrested while protesting their exclusion from the Presidential Debates.

They are on the ballots of many states and have the right to participate in the election process, this includes debates, yet the US two one-party system has continuously locked them out.

While the Clintons are hiring lawyers, Obama is now claiming responsibility for deaths of 4 US diplomats in Libya, Romney is promising an even worse world, US candidates who might bring about real change (the Green party candidates) are being arrested and NATO is ever escalating their grip all over the world; people are dying and going hungry and any hope there may have been for a better world is dying a slow and painful death.

Anonymous has pulled support for WikiLeaks, Julian Assange has met with Lady Gaga, I have interviewed dozens of WikiLeaks supporters, WikiLeaks number 2 has gone incommunicado and Bradley Manning is facing the beast on his own. Those are just some of the developments in the case of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks that Voice of Russia is commenting on.

It is truly a difficult call to make for some and an easy one for others. I myself have decided to stay neutral on this one for the time being. What I am talking about is the apparent divorce between Anonymous and WikiLeaks.

Before sitting down to write this I attempted to contact Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks number two, in order to get his reaction and comments to the news that Anonymous had pulled all support for WikiLeaks. Unfortunately he has become unavailable and has not returned my calls or text messages. A little disconcerting since I have done so many interviews with him and with people who support WikiLeaks.

What to make of it I am not sure, but I do know that there is a lot that is going on behind the scenes and it is possible and highly likely that there is a good explanation for WikiLeaks’ silence. For all we know the WikiLeaks principle has been told not to contact anyone or has been secretly taken somewhere or worse, although we will sit and wait before we start endless hypothesizing. Maybe he just went on vacation or is super busy?

What we do know is that the so called “paywall” is still present on many of the Global Intelligence Files at WikiLeaks, including ones I have written articles about and ones we linked to here at the Voice of Russia. So what is the problem? Well the problem is an ethical one and it is not made an easier by the nature of the paywall.

I wrote to WikiLeaks and asked them to at least put an X in the upper right corner so that people could close it, but the only way for the average user to get around it is to press the donate button. Julian Assnage and WikiLeaks claim to have Twittered a workaround that involves deleting temporary internet files or disabling java, something the average user, who is the exact person who needs to be presented with some truth, would have some difficulty in doing.

Anonymous is against it and has pulled support of WikiLeaks for this and several other reasons. So, first we have the appearance of the paywall, second was a dinner Assange had with Lady Gaga, a truly weird event from anyone’s point of view, and the third was the fact that WikiLeaks, according to Anonymous, has strayed from the mission and has become, as they put it “The Assange Show”.

Other complaints by Anonymous surround the fact that close to a dozen of their hacktivists are currently locked up or facing long prison terms, Bradley Manning has been tortured and is facing life in prison if not worse, and dozens of people who have associated with, helped, provided documents to or communicated with WikiLeaks have been arrested or have faced a myriad variety of different problems because of their association with WikiLeaks, including arbitrary arrest, seizure of equipment, denial of freedom of movement and more, all of this for material on WikiLeaks and for assisting WikiLeaks in their stated and honorable mission to get to the truth out.

Another problem Anonymous has with all this is that no one at Wikileaks has been arrested, is facing prison time or has been subjected to arbitrary punishment other than Julian Assange. Who is not openly wanted for anything having to do with WikiLeaks. Whether this is by special design of the US Government or not, it does not look good for WikiLeaks.

Back to the paywall, Anonymous may be justifiably upset, they are not in the game for the money. They are activists who are interested in getting the truth to the masses. Unfortunately we live in a world where it is impossible to live without money and some sites are forced to try to raise funds to keep going. WikiLeaks needs money to operate and to fight all of their court battles. This has been an ethical problem with other whistleblower sites as well.

For example my own site has never made a dime and I am truly independent in publishing whatever I want on it, yet without funds for writers and developers and multiple hosting and promotion sites such as mine have little chance of competing with the big boys like WikiLeaks. This is the problem. When a site is being commercially or otherwise funded then its credibility and independence may be brought into question. Sites that are dependent on funding have to make sure they do not do anything to displease their paymasters.

WikiLeaks is not funded but is attempting to make money from the material they are providing, they must do so to survive, and this is an unfortunate reality. For Anonymous it sheds a bad light on the material that they are fighting to get out to the whole world. They are doing so for free at a great cost to themselves in order to get the truth out about crimes being committed by governments and corporations to the masses.

The fact that WikiLeaks chose to put up the paywall on Anonymous provided material is quite frankly an odd one as far as I am concerned and hopefully Kristinn may clear that up in the near future.

Meanwhile poor Bradley Manning is facing the beast on his own and is looking at, among other things, “aiding the enemy” charges. That enemy being WikiLeaks.

Hopefully the unifying factor of “getting the truth out” will allow WikiLeaks and Anonymous to “kiss and make up” and hopefully, as I am almost certain is not the case, WikiLeaks is not only in it for the money.

P.S. Would love to hear from Anonymous and Kristinn, please answer your e-mails.

Anonymous spoke out after the publication of my last piece on the WikiLeaks-Anonymous breakup and it does not look as if there will be any “kissing and making up” this time. In fact Anonymous is soon to release TYLER which, for all intents and purposes, may spell the end for WikiLeaks.

The plot thickens in the Anonymous/WikiLeaks break up. Yesterday I wrote a piece on the falling out between WikiLeaks and Anonymous at the end of which I asked Anonymous or WikiLeaks to contact me, my readers have asked to let them know if I hear from them, which I have, so here is the follow up.

I am still waiting for an answer from Hrafnsson and WikiLeaks and quite frankly I am a little concerned. However Anonymous was kind enough to answer within hours after the publication of my article with no attempts by me at finding them. They found me themselves in a very impressive and prompt manner.

My contact with them was very cordial and the members I communicated with were very polite and well-mannered. To begin with they were kind enough to point out to me that their position was made clear in their official press release on the WikiLeaks paywall matter, which anyone interested in the matter should take a few minutes to read. The press release details some of the activities that the group took to defend WikiLeaks and Julian Assange and the level of sacrifice that they have shown pales in comparison to a request to get rid of a paywall.

Their actions against MasterCard Visa and Paypal in support of WikiLeaks ended with 14 members all facing 15 year sentences, Jeremy Hammond who provided the Stratfor Global Intelligence files in prison facing 20 years, Bradley Manning facing life and the list goes on.

Anonymous has taken issue with the fact that not a single member of WikiLeaks has been prosecuted except for Assange whom they referred to as the besieged leader. The problem with the paywall is that the information was supposed to be provided to the people, you and me, for free and they say the paywall is an attempt to “sell” the information.

Anonymous is also upset that the focus has been taken away from the “leaks” and is now only on Assange and WikiLeaks. In their statement they say, “We will NOT attack the web assets of WikiLeaks, as they are media. We do not attack media. Any future attack on the WikiLeaks servers attributed to Anonymous is a lie. But what we will do is cease from this day all support of any kind for WikiLeaks or Julian Assange. No longer will Anonymous risk prison to defend WikiLeaks or Julian Assange from their enemies. No longer will Anonymous risk prison to supply material for WikiLeaks disclosures. Anonymous turns it's back on WikiLeaks.”

Anonymous also promises to release secret files about WikiLeaks in the next few days. We will wait and see what those are.

In one of my contacts with Anonymous one of the Hacktivists said, and I quote: “Anonymous isn't a centralized entity, so any statement saying ‘Anonymous does/does not support X’ is utterly without meaning. …some people who claim to be spokespeople for Anonymous say they no longer support Wikileaks. This implies a fundamental misunderstanding of what Anonymous is.”

Anonymous did fill me in on Project Mayhem 2012 which will go ahead without WikiLeaks. One of the main aspects of the project which is designed to expose corruption malfeasance and counter internet censorship is called TYLER, which is to go out of beta testing mode on November the 5th (Guy Fawkes Day) and go live on December 21, 2012 (End of Mayan calendar and some say end of the world day).

TYLER will be like WikiLeaks on steroids according to Anonymous. The structure of the system will be massive, encrypted and completely decentralized. Its structure will also be impregnable to censorship and it will not require the massive funds WikiLeaks has needed to operate. They claim it will require no money.

TYLER is just a small part of Project Mayhem and is in response to the United States government and its Cybersecurity Act of 2012. Anonymous said that before December 21st, “all insiders, moles, and whistleblowers worldwide will release an unprecedented amount of corporate, financial, military and state leaks onto TYLER."

Finally Anonymous reminded me that they are not represented by single entity and never will be. “The power of Anonymous comes from the Hivemind not any individual. Whover states the contrary is trying to use the name of Anonymous for a personal agenda, whatever that might be or trying to misinform the public.

Unfortunately for WikiLeaks and Julian Assange the launching of TYLER and the loss of their most powerful supporter and largest source may spell their demise. I was hoping this wasn’t true but it really looks like there will be no kissing and making up this time.

Thanks to Anonymous for taking the time to contact me and fill me in on the developments, I am still waiting for a response from WikiLeaks and would love to hear their side on this. Will keep you all informed, lot’s of things on the back burner.

Any opinions or views expressed herein are those of the author. He can be reached at jar2@list.ru.

Update: I was contacted by Anonymous due to the fact that I did not make it clear enough that: I quote "a) There is no official Anonymous position on Wikileaks b) TYLER will be out in order to circumvent the problems wikileaks pose namely: having a herarchy and therefore a head to attack c) conversely Anonymous does not have a head to attack and if anyone states to be the leader or talk for Anonymous then they're fundamentaly misunderstanding what Anonymous is (in most cases willingly) which means infiltration."

VOR readers and listeners are interested in the upcoming US presidential elections and are voting in the VoR Poll, unfortunately, the more we hear and the more we learn, the more it is clear that no matter who wins the next election, things are not likely to change, and the endless wars and drone attacks and kill lists will continue. Apparently the one party, predetermined US elections are something we can use as an example of how NOT to build a democracy.

Voice of Russia readers and listeners from the US and around the world, experts and political pundits from almost every corner of the globe, political activists of every shade and almost everyone else we have talked to or had contact with on the matter are almost unanimous is their opinion that no matter who wins the upcoming presidential election in the US, almost nothing is going to change and there is almost no difference between the candidates.

The Voice of Russia has been conducting a poll on the US elections results and the outcome underlines the hopelessness that is permeating the world and the United States. The world used to be interested in who was leading the US with many seeing the leader of the US as the leader of the free world and the guardian of morality and values. That is no longer the case.

From Occupy activists, to Middle East experts, to NATO experts, to economists, to hunted hackers, all of the people I have spoken to say the same thing, there is no difference between the candidates, there is no democracy in the US and for all intents and purposes democracy is dead.

This is a damning assessment for the US and for Obama in particular. Four years ago people believed Obama and his “change we can believe in.” They really believed he would be the next Martin Luther King Jr. or Mahatma Gandhi, even awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize before he actually did anything. Well the people of the world were fooled, and they know it.

Not only has Obama continued Bush’s policies but he has expanded on them. The wars, the torture, the decimation of civil liberties, the drones and the endless killing have all continued and been expanded on by Obama. For the blacks and the minorities who thought he would be their champion and make things right Obama has proven that he is a simply a puppet to American corporate interests. He has in four years proven that the US presidency is a fallacy, and like Bush before him, that they US president is just a puppet whose strings are pulled by big money.

Recent events in the US have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no more democracy in the United States of America. Democracy is dead but the billion dollar election show continues for the masses. The only problem is that more and more of the “masses” are beginning to realize that the entire thing is a staged pre-planned event with pre-determined results.

The most damning example of the pestilent disease infecting America occurred recently when presidential and Vice-presidential candidates Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala were literally arrested and hidden in a warehouse for over eight hours so they would in no way disturb the presidential debate show that they had been excluded from as candidates and whose format and outcome had already been decided on.

Not even in the most backward, brutal and evil regimes do we hear of such events taking place, and this occurred in the country that attempts to dictate to the world on democracy and pretends to be the moral compass of humanity and the world’s policeman. A country that dares to dictate to the Russian Federation for one, a country with a true robust democratic system, with more than seven real and functioning parties, on the precepts of democracy. The hypocrisy is only now beginning to dawn on the world.

The morally bankrupt and one party system in the United was discussed recently with the Voice of Russia by Cheri Honkala in an interview after her arrest and false imprisonment. An event during which she was chained to a chair for 8 hours in a warehouse, being treated worse than a common criminal.

If we are to follow the dictionary definition of a fascist state as one where the corporations control the government and the country then the US is the poster boy for fascism and Obama is the biggest hypocrite in world history. Not only because he has not fulfilled his campaign promises but because he betrayed the hope and the trust of every single person who believed in his lies of “change.”

Back to our poll, despite Obama’s lies and the open hatred espoused by Romney, the candidates are still getting votes. Obama is in the lead with the world’s audience, with “it doesn’t matter” in second and Romney in third. It is a shame the third party candidates have been effectively blocked by the American media, because even our listeners and readers have heard little about them. It is a shame because they are both candidates who would bring about real change, not the fake and commercialized “change” that Obama promised four years ago.

Playing politics with the deaths of their personnel, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have proven: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Newly uncovered e-mails show that Clinton and Obama knew within hours that the Benghazi attack was carried out by al-Qaeda linked terrorists. The same terrorists they contracted to destroy Libya and assassinate the late Muammar Gaddafi.

You have to hand it to United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, you could get whiplash watching her flip-flop back and forth, her statements and positioning on the Benghazi attack changing and dodging back and forth like some Wimbledon tennis match on amphetamines with the fast-forward locked on hyper-speed.

Not long ago I wrote about the Clintons and their hiring of legal team in the event that she was blamed for the security failures that allowed the Benghazi attack to take place. Clinton took the fall the next day, in a political move to protect Obama’s re-election bid. I also went into the fact that the attack was actually aimed at CIA base Benghazi and not on Stevens. Clinton has not gone into this. Now it is revealed that Clinton and the Obama Administration knew it was a terrorist attack almost immediately, and said nothing.

Another political move? This latest revelation begs a lot of questions, among them: are Clinton’s political ambitions and her dream of being the first woman president of the United States in 2016 getting in the way of her performing her job as Secretary of State? Is she incompetent? Or is she just following the Clinton tradition of flipping and flopping as the wind changes?

Whatever the case for the Clinton obfuscation, the release of the e-mails is damning to put it mildly. Yet Clinton continues to side-step, dodge and obfuscate. She warns us to take the e-mails cautiously, and downplays their significance even saying that the news that it was a terrorist attack came from social networks and that is not evidence.

The e-mails in question started to come in within 20 minutes of the attack, and according to Reuters were obtained by them from government sources. Reuters reports that the first email, was sent at 16:05 Washington time, 20-30 minutes after the attack began with the subject line being “U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack”. The text read: “…. approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well. Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four (redacted) personnel are in the compound safe haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support.”

The second e-mail was sent at 16:54 Washington time with the subject being: “Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi” and text reporting that : “… the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been cleared. … a ‘response team’ was at the site attempting to locate missing personnel.”

A third email sent at 18:07 carried the subject line: “Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack.”The message reported: “Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli.”

Why then did the White House and Clinton continue to place the blame on the video “The Innocence of Muslims” for days after the attack? Well for one the terrorists groups most likely connected with the attack, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar al-Sharia, and other groups were working with the CIA and the US Government in Libya in the operation to overthrow Muammar Kaddafi. For a Secretary of State who is blinded by her own political ambitions this connection would not be something she would want to come out.

In fact as was made clear by the actions of the Clinton’s in gathering a legal team, they are terrified of the American public seeing any failure in Libya. Clinton and her glib: “We came! We saw! He died!” comments on the brutal and unjust assassination of Kaddafi, from the start, showed the true beast beneath her aging and waning exterior. That and her self-congratulatory stance on the decimation of yet another country by the US proves her godless inhumanity and the fact that she will do anything, including murdering thousands, if not millions, to attain her political ambitions.

This time the checks and balances come from the Republican side, Democrats being cowed into submission to protect the party’s president and Clinton. According to ABC News Republican Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte wrote a letter questioning Obama why his administration "consistently described the attack for days afterward as a spontaneous response to an anti-Islam video. These emails make clear that your administration knew within two hours of the attack that it was a terrorist act and that Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan militant group with links to al Qaeda, had claimed responsibility for it… This latest revelation only adds to the confusion surrounding what you and your administration knew about the attacks in Benghazi, when you knew it, and why you responded to those tragic events in the ways that you did."

Clinton and Obama may tell a lie or two to the American people every day, they are politicians; they are concerned for their political futures. It is a shame that they would play politics with the deaths of their own personnel and continue to attempt to paint their complete utter and total failure in Libya as some sort of victory.

Unless killing Muammar Gaddafi at any cost was the goal to begin with? The aggressive invasion and assassination of the head of state of the sovereign country of Libya was a crime against humanity. Of course they are going to lie.

The US War on Terror is an illegal war and WikiLeaks has even more proof. The aggressive invasions are a crime against humanity, the killing of civilians and people defending their homelands are war crimes, the extra-judicial executions are illegal under all international standards and laws, the drone- strikes, Obama’s daily kill list, the black sites and illegal prisons worldwide, the torture and the illegal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are all criminal acts.

Canadian Bill C-309: Trading Liberties for Security, the Road to Authoritarianism and Fascism

Canada has passed Bill C-309, an arcane law, redundant on the surface, but paving the way for massive abuse and crack-downs on protestors and demonstrators across the country. With the success of student protestors who recently won and beat back a tuition increase, some say the establishment in Canada is fighting back. “Masks off!”, as now you face up to 10 years in prison in Canada for wearing a mask.

In a move that many are saying now has Canada following the US in stripping away the rights of the people and sees it obediently goose-stepping down the road to fascism after its southern neighbor, a new law was passed in the land of the moose and the maple leaf, that has many advocates of civic freedom up in arms.

The law in question, Private Member’s Bill C-309, put forth by Conservative Canadian MP Blake Richards, places a ban on wearing masks at “unlawful protests and tumultuous demonstrations”. The new law calls for prison terms of up to five years for wearing a mask at an illegal protest and ten years if a protest turns into a riot.

Although Canada already has laws on the books regarding the wearing of masks during criminal and indictable offenses the lawmakers have seen fit to pass the draconian law which some say will have a chilling effect on peaceful protests, something many feel it was designed to do.

According to the general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association Nathalie Des Rosiers, in an article in theCanadian Daily Mail: “We’re concerned that if it is used it would simply create a chill on protests and prevent people from protesting peacefully altogether. On its face, it looks more symbolic than anything.”

For reasons unbeknownst to us the Canadian lawmakers decided to pass the law on Halloween, a holiday famous for masks. Are they being humorous or is this a slap-in-the-face to Occupiers and students who effectively demonstrated against tuition increases? Or are they after those would dare support the group Anonymous and wear Guy Fawkes masks?

In an article on RT Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae said in a statement: "I don't think people understand the implications that it has, when does wearing a toque low on your face become a mask? Are we going to ban people from appearing in a protest because they are wearing a burqa? Are we going to say that on a cold day that people can't wear a mask?"

The reasons for the passing of the arcane law can be many on the surface, the claim that during the recent football riots it was impossible for police to arrest and prosecute rioters may be valid but it is actually redundant to have a mask law when there are already such laws on the Canadian books and participating in unlawful gatherings is already “unlawful” and taking parts in riots is also illegal.

According to Canadian media reports the bill was formed in response to the 2011 Stanley Cup riots which took place in Vancouver, British Columbia. Canadian media also reports that the main targets of the bill are members of the Blak Bloc anarchist group, who show up at demonstrations and try to escalate tensions and who many claim are undercover police.

Regardless of all of the reasoning for the bill, it is redundant and unneeded. Unless we look at the real reasons for it; one might argue that with the billions of dollars that they US and Canada have spent on facial recognition technology, the counter measure of a simple mask, nullifies all their efforts, something lawmakers would never admit. Another reason might also be the growing protest movements across North America and the fear by the authorities of a popular uprising, something that those in power will do anything and everything to suppress.

The questions surrounding the bill and the chances for the law to be abused are many. When does a peaceful protest become “tumultuous”? Will a scarf on a cold day, worn by a protestor be enough to throw the person behind bars for 10 years? What happens when a mask is part of the message of the protest? Such as Guy Fawkes masks? Will anyone wearing a Guy Fawkes mask now be a target for arrest? The mask is the message after all and such masks will never be authorized. What about the Occupy Movement, will they have to leave their faces bare on cold days or risk a decade behind bars? Their peaceful protests are rarely “authorized”.

If Russia, on the other hand, had such laws on the books then the group Pussy Riot would have gotten 10 years for wearing masks at their unlawful and tumultuous demonstrations. Instead of the mere 2 years for an act of religious hatred and the desecration of the holiest church for Russian Orthodox Christians.

North America has been on the road to fascism for decades now and this is just another law and another attempt at stripping away the rights of the population and controlling the masses by fear. The constant and ever present fear many in North America have of losing their God-given-freedom.

Americans long ago gave up their liberty and freedom in the name of security, now Canadians must follow suit? There used to be a joke that the only difference between Americans and Canadians was that Americans had guns and Canadians had health care. Perhaps this is not far from the truth?

The US States of Texas and Iowa have openly stated that OSCE Election Observers will face criminal prosecution if they come anywhere near US election polling locations. The hypocrisy in the fact that the country that dictates to the world on “democracy” is afraid to allow international observers to view its election process says volumes and brings into question the very fundamental legitimacy of that power.

The world superpower that dictates to every country on earth about democracy, transparency and the rule of law, the country which attempts to justify aggressive invasions and the assassination of leaders of countries it does not care for, for one reason or the other, by throwing around the word “democracy” while it launches invasions and arms terrorists to remove rightful leaders, looks absolutely absurd and hypocritical in light of the fact that it is attempting to intimidate and bar international elections observers from observing its “democratic” presidential election process.

The United States is once again violating another international treaty or agreement it has signed or is bound to. This is not unusual and is more the rule for the US than the exception, examples includes the Geneva Conventions, the Vienna Conventions, international anti-racism agreements, agreements regarding the treatment of indigenous peoples, prisoners of war, and scores of other agreements. Other areas where the US does as it please include international standards and laws regarding the declaration of war, international arrests, territorial and sovereign integrity, pollution, labor practices, extra-judicial executions and the list goes on. This time however, the double standards and absolute hypocrisy could not be more clear.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has plans to deploy up to 100 elections observers all around the country on Election Day to monitor polling and other associated processes. This comes after a warning, according to the web site thehill.com was issued to OSCE official Daan Everts earlier this month by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) regarding “a coordinated political effort to disenfranchise millions of Americans, particularly traditionally disenfranchised groups like minorities.”

Rather than welcoming international observers, as one would logically assume any country would do which claims to be the world leader in “democracy”, almost entirely right-wing and conservative groups, include the supposed anti-election fraud group “True the Vote”, have come out screaming against international observers.

For those not blinded by the constant rhetoric and aware of the racist agendas of the far-right this is not surprising. It is one thing to suppress minority voters and throw up every barrier they can think of to keep them from the polls and have them disgruntled and screaming racism, it is yet another when that is documented and observed by respected members of a respected and solid international inter-governmental body like the OSCE.

After the election debacle of 2000, when George W Bush’s brother Jeb Bush suppressed minority votes in Florida leading to George Bush’s supreme court handed presidency, raised the interest of the international community as to the fairness of the US system, the OSCE was invited to observe US elections by George Bush himself in 2004, after UN observers were refused, although they had been doing so since 2002.

The states in question which have threatened OSCE observers with arrest and imprisonment currently include Texas and Iowa with others likely to follow. Iowa has stated that it will arrest OSCE observers who come within 300 feet of polling locations with Texas issuing similar threats.

The United States, as one of 56 OSCE members is supposedly committed, as are other member countries, to allow its elections to be observed, this has been true since 1990. Although the US is supposed to allow observers the OSCE agreement is not legally binding and includes wording that calls for domestic laws to be followed which allows individual US states and local authorities almost carte-blanche to do as they see fit.

According to the web site the Axis of Logic the head of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, wrote a letter to the US State Department of State and Hillary Clinton denouncing threats made against OSCE observers. She wrote, “The threat of criminal sanctions against international observers is unacceptable. The United States, like all countries in the OSCE, has an obligation to invite observers to observe its elections. Our observers are requested to remain strictly impartial and not to intervene in the voting process in any way. They are in the US to observe the elections, not to interfere in them.”

The United States of America has a lot to hide when it comes to elections, much more than most of the international community realizes. The fact that internal US organizations that defend Human Rights have requested international observers should be triggering alarm bells worldwide.

The problems with the US election process are many. Starting with the actual voting process, the US has shown that there are problems with electronic voting machines, such as the Diebold machines which caused widespread scandals during the Bush elections, including counting votes for Bush, when the other candidate was selected and which are known to be easily manipulated.

Then there is the fact that there are locations where there are no paper ballots and hence no reliable way to verify votes. Another problem is that observers are not to be allowed in many polling stations in many locations where there are paper ballots, to observe that the actual ballots are placed in the boxes and that they are sealed and not tampered with.

There are scores of other suppression and illegal tactics taking place in the steps leading up to the actual voting booth. Among these are those limiting who is allowed to vote and steps taken, by right-wing and mostly conservative racist groups to keep segments of the population away from the polls, as a rule black and minority voters and the poor and the elderly, voters who generally vote for the Democratic or third party candidates.

Such tactics include varied and widespread voter purges which have been manipulated all over the United States, including those purging felons, voter ID laws that target the poor and elderly and an array of activities that are designed to intimidate and otherwise keep minorities, the poor and the elderly away from the voting booth.

There are reports in areas with large concentrations of Spanish speaking voters of leaflets being distributed by right-wing groups with the wrong date of voting printed on them, for example. There are also widespread reports of billboard campaigns stating that improper voting or mistakes in the voting booth may be felony offenses, a clever move to frighten people into thinking if they make some little mistake then they may go to prison. There are also right-wing groups deploying millions of “observers” who may intimidate “selected” voters by making them provide proof of their identities before allowing them into polling stations, for example.

According to the site CNSNEWS.com: “The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and others urged OSCE observers to deploy in states where they allege there is “a coordinated political effort to disenfranchise millions of Americans,” especially minorities and low-income groups.”

Of all of the problems there are also complaints about the arcane and archaic Electoral College system, the re-zoning of Electoral College districts in many states such as Texas, where Electoral College votes are taken away from minority and poor areas and moved to “white” areas and even claims that there are only 32 counties in the US that will decide the vote and 41 out of 50 states are being ignored because they are either red “Republican” or blue “Democratic”.

Another problem in the US is access to the media, only available to candidates with millions, if not billions of dollars, effectively making it impossible for third party candidates to compete. Then there is the entire presidential debate process which is decided on by private corporations and third party candidates are effectively banned from participating in.

These are unfortunately not the only problems. There are also a slew of problems making it almost impossible for many third party candidates to get on the ballots in many states. Add to that unfair federal funding practices and impossible thresholds that are supposed to be met and you have a system that only benefits the wealthy and is completely controlled by those who are already in power.

Perhaps the United States could take lessons from the Russian Federation on democracy and running fair elections? Russia for example, has web cameras in the polling stations allowing anyone to observe, transparent voting boxes with an observable secure process from start to finish, hundreds of thousands of observers, 9 parties all with equal television air-time, inclusive debates and the right of every citizen to vote.

Unlikely, the United States has a fine-tuned system to keep the wealthy white class in power and keep everyone else as subjects. Everyone else includes: all “minorities” (who are in fact not minorities in many states), American Indians, the poor, the disabled, the young, students, migrant workers, displaced people and the elderly and everyone else not fitting the wealthy white ideal.

Lastly, the United States has become a country controlled by corporations and big money, they control the government and the political processes, this is a fact few would argue with. The system is also designed to suppress a huge segment of the population on racist and other lines. According to any dictionary, by definition the US has slipped into a state of Fascism, or neo-Fascism if you prefer. Of course such a system would not welcome elections observers. They can not allow the “secret” to get out of the bag.

In an event that takes place every ten years the People’s Republic of China has gathered to choose new leaders. Amid extremely tight security and little information being readily available China watchers are struggling to fathom what the future direction of the country will be. This will be made clear when the congress is completed but statements by outgoing leader Hu Jintao give us a very good indication.

The People’s Republic of China has begun the process of reforming their power structure and selecting new members to leadership positions during the current 18th Congress of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China.

The process of changing the leadership of the country takes place once every ten years and involves a gathering of China’s Communist Party delegates from all over the Republic.

While the West is full of talks of reforms and changes in their never ending desire to see the Communist country collapse, Chinese leader Hu Jintao has made it clear that China is not going to change. The path of Socialism with a Chinese Character will be continued and made stronger and continue to be built upon.

This week the leadership will be announced after they are formally appointed by the Central Committee to their respective positions, the Central Committee is chosen in turn by the approximately 2,987 delegates of the Party Congress.

The makeup of the Communist Government includes the head, the Secretary General of the Party, or the “President” as he is commonly referred to in the West, followed by 9 members of the Politburo Standing Committee, then 24 members of the Politburo itself who answer to the Central Committee which is made up of 204 members and has 167 alternate lower ranking members, they in turn answer to the Party Congress made up of approximately 2,400 delegates.

Secretary General Hu Jintao began the congress by addressing the delegates in a speech that has seen no end of analysis by the West. Among his main points was a call to continue to fight corruption at all levels. He was unusually strong in his language for calling for all to be treated equally when it came to answering for corruption related offenses and crimes against the people, “No one is allowed to place oneself above the party organization. We must ensure that all are equal before discipline.”

Reflected the unrest amongst the Chinese people and the seriousness of the problem Hu made it clear that if something is not done it could lead to the end of the Socialist China as a whole and the 91 year old party: “If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the party and even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state, we must strengthen education about combating corruption and promote clean government and improve the culture of clean government. A tough position on cracking down on corruption must be maintained at all times, and thorough investigations into major corruption cases must take place and we must work hard to resolve problems of corruption that directly affect the people.” Hu said in his statement.

The West of course is in a quandary as little information is being made available by the party as to the direction they are going to take and calls to end corruption only add to the West’s worries as they affect Western attempts at economic manipulation and the subversion of the Communist system of the People’s Republic.

As China is the most populated country on Earth and the US is extremely dependent on China economically, new policies by China could make or break the US economy, especially at a time when it is weak and depends on affordable Chinese exports and huge Chinese investment to keep it afloat, anti-Communist rhetoric is kept to a minimum as are any moves to upset the superpower.

Chinese sentiment toward the US is at a low reflected by a US Embassy “election party” at a ballroom in a Beijing hotel that fell flat on its face as most of the invited officials did not attend. Chinese security services questioned an American diplomat as the party was conducted without the permission of the authorities. The American diplomat arrogantly answered that they did not need permission.

Another worry for the West has been statements pointing to the intention of China to become more assertive in protecting its territorial integrity and maritime interests. During his speech Secretary General Hu Jintao stated that China is committed to: "enhancing our capacity for exploiting marine resources … to resolutely safeguard China's maritime rights and interests and build China into a maritime power.”

During the Congress statements have been made regarding increasing China’s economic role in the world and strengthening its economic might. Something China watchers say may be of greatest concern to the West, currently seriously weakened by an economic crisis and the US in particular which is also bogged down in military adventures all over the planet.

Unfortunately security is so tight around the congress and it is so difficult for reporters to get in that there is little detailed information available as to concrete decisions that are being made, however once the Congress is complete more information will become available.

Outgoing Secretary General Hu Jintao made an impassioned plea during his speech regarding correcting problems of concern to society saying, “We must exalt the true, the good and the beautiful and reject the false, the evil and the ugly". A very beautiful and eloquent thought, in my opinion, from the leader of a superpower, it is unfortunate other world leaders do not share that sentiment.

hem some hot food, gave them blankets and resources. We will keep fighting and I will keep talking to you.

In this media-bias piece we take a look at a typical right-wing attack on Russia and Obama by someone who is supposed to be an “expert” on Russia. Once again the pompous, sanctimonious, self-righteous, holier-than-thou, hypocritical right-wing conservative view is filled with tired clichés, factually challenged, completely biased and filled with half truths and outright lies presented as fact.

This week’s biased-media report focuses on an article by right-wing conservative Ilan Berman the Vice President of the conservative right-wing American Foreign Policy Council in the right-wing conservative propaganda rag the Washington Times. According to what I have dug up he is supposedly a respected expert, or was, and the “think tank” the American Foreign Policy Council provides information to members of US Congress, the Executive Branch, and the US policymaking community, as well as world leaders outside the US (particularly in the former USSR). I suppose you could call them a mini-CIA then, as it is usually a function of the CIA to provide intelligence to officials.

Apparently the “expert” must not be making enough as the vice president of the right-wing think tank and if judging by his article in the Washington Times, the information he provides is of the same caliber, the reason is obvious. Why someone in that position would resort to writing fact-starved, vitriolic hate speech masked as anti-Russian propaganda pretending to be another sanctimonious self-serving call for justice is beyond me.

Back to the matter at hand, Ilam Berman’s anti-Russia piece, which was published on November 6th, on the eve of the US elections. Perhaps he thought Romney would win and wanted to become an advisor for the Romney administration and was showing what he was made of? Just speculation, but who knows?

Let’s start looking at Berman’s bias with his subject choice. The tragic case of Sergei Magnitsky, a sensitive topic and another straw man argument by the West so that it can continue to demonize Russia. The right-wing sponsors of the Magnitsky bill need people to support it, they need people to believe their mis-characterizations and shameful self-serving mis-representations so that they can continue to demonize Russia for their own self-interests, and they oh so need the Magnitsky Bill so they can look righteous and throw up another threat against Russia and seize assets or whatever other machinations they have up their sleeves.

Paragraph one of the Berman piece: We will start with the word “languishing”. Sergey Magnitsky was in jail for 11 months in pre-trial detention for rather serious charges. I will not say anything bad about Magnitsky as he is no longer with us, bless his soul, and can not defend himself, but I will say any lawyer, and this includes US based attorneys use their knowledge to benefit their clients and sometimes that includes using the system to their own advantage, meaning bending the law.

If we want to talk about jail terms, as the word languishing implies, perhaps we can bring up millions of US cases, right now the NATO 5 comes to mind, already in jail for almost 9 months with perhaps more than a year to go before their trial begins. Guantanamo anyone?

Mr. Magnitsky’s death was tragic, he was improperly diagnosed and was not treated on time, but to characterize the case as being denied medical attention is incorrect. However Berman can attack people who can not defend themselves as they are Russians, do not read rags like the Washington Times and many have lost their jobs who were anywhere near the case, but I can defend them and I will.

Bill Browder the co-founder of Hermitage Capital Management was most likely guilty of tax-evasion and bribing officials, there is no other likely explanation as to how Mr. Magnitsky “uncovered” corruption and tax fraud, and as Browder’s lawyer it would have been up to him to be in the middle of it, he was doing his job and made the fall guy by Bowder.

Back to Berman’s twisted article. Berman states the case and the circumstances surrounding Magnitsky’s death are “fraught with absurdity”, I wonder if all of the police officers and people involved who have lost their jobs and prosecuted would say the same thing. My Berman’s article however, is in fact filled with absurdities, as in the next sentence he brings out that tired and worn cliché “Soviet”, he says “in time-honored Soviet tradition” the lawyers have not seen the case files. Maybe someone should tell Berman the Soviet Union has not existed for over 2 decades. Maybe not as a trip to the Soviet Union is his “think tanks” only claim to fame. We wouldn’t want to burst his bubble now would we?

Berman continues his rant and with uncharacteristic restraint for a right-wing hack, waited until paragraph 4 to attack Obama. Saying Obama has tried to ignore the Magnitsky case to appease Russia. He then characterizes Russia’s permission to allow for limited use of Russian airspace to allow the US to supply troops in Afghanistan as acquiescence, after the US pleaded with Russia for Russian assistance.

Berman next unbelievably attempts to transpose right-wing “Russia is geopolitical enemy #1” rhetoric onto the Russian people. He cites Russia’s independent position on Iran and Russia’s calls for an internal resolution in Syria to its own sovereign problem as “strongly suggesting that Moscow still sees Washington as the “main enemy”. Wrong again Berman, your right wingers openly and stupidly state this repeatedly, no Russian official has ever stated such nonsense. Another strike for you. In the same paragraph he says “the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin is capricious, unaccountable and deeply anti-democratic”.

Hold on a minute! Capricious, unaccountable and deeply anti-democratic? Again Berman must be suffering from overload spinning America’s failure as virtuous. Capricious, shall we mention US arbitrary laws and the stripping away of civil liberties? Unaccountable? Shall we mention George Bush, Dick Cheney, Condeleezza Rice and everyone who was instrumental in committing and continuing all of the war crimes and crimes against humanity the US has been guilty of in the last decade, not to mention torture, extra-judicial executions, indefinite detention and droning. Anti-Democratic? Ask the thousands of Occupiers, third party followers and leaders, and any non-white non-Christian in the US about that.

Should I continue? Berman then cites “a punk band” I guess he couldn’t remember what they were called and Sergey Udaltsov as examples of Russian authoritarian rule. First if you want to know what I think of P-Riot follow this link (P-Riot: provocation against church and state) as for Udaltsov, he may be tried for treason, he is guilty of organizing illegal rallies and attempting to subvert the government in my opinion, and is a traitor in the pay of the west as I see it.

These are two examples of how almost anything is allowed to take place in Russia, not authoritarianism Berman. If similar deeds were committed in America would you be so defensive Berman? Of course you wouldn’t. They would probably get the death penalty. Should I mention Manning? Assange? Jeremy Hammond?

Berman did say one thing almost truthful in his pre-penultimate paragraph about the Obama Administration’s position on the Magnitsky Act, “They also fear that Moscow might make good on threats of retaliatory measures if the act is actually signed into law.” That would mean Moscow could go and ban everyone involved in any illegal prosecution in the US, anyone associated with an “accidental” execution of an innocent man (happens all the time in the US), anyone involved in prosecuting whistleblower Bradley Manning, in persecuting WikiLeaks, in illegally kidnapping and prosecuting Victor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko, in carrying out and ordering extra-judicial executions, torture, violations of the Geneva Conventions, aggressive wars, the list goes on and on.

If the Government of the Russian Federation decided to try to make America bend to its will or give it a black eye by making such a list as the Magnitsky List or passing a law like the Magnitsky Act, the names on it would be in the millions.

Berman closes with “The road to a true “reset,” therefore, cannot lie in keeping silent about the Kremlin’s criminalized domestic conduct.” I would say the same thing for Washington.

As for Sergey Magnitsky, his death was tragic, the way he was manipulated and made the fall guy by his Western employer was despicable, and everyone directly involved in his death has already been punished. In case you did not know that Berman.

A true unsung hero of the modern world is the Russian Federation’s Emergency Situations Ministry or EMERCOM. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week they are ready to respond to any emergency, anywhere on the planet. Selflessly and tirelessly fulfilling their mission and asking nothing in return. The thousands of professionals at EMERCOM save a life every 12 minutes, something that is truly an admirable feat.

The Emergency Situations Ministry of the Russian Federation, or EMERCOM (derived from "Emergency Control Ministry”) as it is known internationally, has dispatched 2 huge Ilyushin-76 (IL-76) cargo aircraft loaded with humanitarian aid to the United States for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The aircraft lifted off from the Ramenskoye Airfield near Moscow which has ideally long runways to help facilitate the taking offs and landings of the huge aircraft. The two planes were loaded down with more than 50 tons of emergency supplies on board for those hardest hit by the hurricane in the United States.

This is not the first time that EMERCOM has assisted with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Immediately after the hurricane hit Cuba EMERCOM was there delivering building materials and emergency supplies to the Cuban people at the request of the government of the Republic of Cuba.

During that operation EMERCOM delivered over 32 tons of building materials to assist in the rebuilding of the 1,000s of homes that Hurricane Sandy destroyed.

The Ministry does not seek publicity or glory or play politics with its assistance, as is evidenced by its web site and the short, even terse, news releases that it distributes regarding its operations. It is in the business of assisting those in need and takes that mission very seriously indeed.

According EMERCOM Minister Vladimir Puchkov, speaking at a forum in early October, EMERCOM had carried out 40 humanitarian operations overseas since the beginning of the year. That was before Sandy and several other disasters worldwide.

Not only is the ministry assisting people in need internationally, according to Vladimir Puchkov: EMERCOM rescue teams save a person’s life every 12 minutes, EMERCOM firefighters put out 300-400 fires a day, EMERCOM emergency response teams and helicopter rescue teams respond to a seemingly endless stream of road accidents and EMERCOM bomb disposal experts defuse from 100 to 200 explosive devices every 24 hours.

Almost every week EMERCOM evacuates Russian citizens in distress from around the globe. Recently parachutist Irina Sinitsyna who was critically injured in California while attempting to break a world parachuting record was airlifted by EMERCOM from California back to Moscow on an aircraft equipped with an aerial emergency room staffed by five doctors, the plane flew non-stop from California and safely delivered Irina to Moscow but unfortunately despite the efforts of all involved she died tragically on October 2nd at Burdenko Neurological Clinic.

Apart from California, Cuba, and New York EMERCOM has been to more locations in the last year than most of us make it to in a lifetime. So far this year this includes most of Europe, Thailand, the Caribbean, Cyprus, India, Sri Lanka, all over the territory of the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and more.

In 2011 70 international search and rescue operations were carried out by the Ministry in such places as Austria, Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Tunisia, Libya, Kyrgyzstan and Japan.

The birth date of the Ministry, for some is a point of argument; officially the Ministry of Emergency Situations was founded on January 10, 1994 by an order from then President Boris Yeltsin. However some consider the real date of birth as being December 27, 1990, when the Russian Rescue Corps was founded and assigned a similar mission.

Currently the Head of Ministry is Vladimir Puchkov, who was appointed by President Vladimir Putin on May 17, 2012, and who replaced the first head of the ministry, Sergey Shoigu, who was at the helm for 16 years.

Currently EMERCOM is working with countries worldwide, including the US, to assist in responding more effectively to disasters anywhere they might occur.

For EMERCOM rescuers and professionals their mission is a serious one and their only reward is